Love is a Battlefield
by butterz09
Summary: Heading off to Columbus with her paintball team, Santana Lopez is looking to beat the other number 1 team. When she falls for the captain of the rival team, will she be able to set aside her feelings? Brittana with some Faberry. Rating has changed.
1. Chapter 1

**Love is a Battlefield**

Santana Lopez was nothing short of amazing when it came to the world of competition paintball. Her team, The Riots, were the number 1 contenders to winning the Ohio State Paintball Championship that would be held in a little over 3 weeks time. The only team standing in their way was the Showstoppers. Having never played them before, she didn't know what to expect, only that they were the number 1 team in the Ohio Western District. It was 2 days until the 3 week Paintball Camp. Directors and competitors decided that they would hold workshops and training sessions in a summer camp environment to bring the teams together from all over the state. On the last weekend of camp they would hold the competition. The two day event would consist of 20 teams battling it out and the winners of each would move up in the brackets for the championship match.

The second Thursday into summer break, and Santana being the captain of her team, sent out a mass text message to her teammates for one last practice before they left the next day for the two and a half hour drive to Columbus for check-in and the annual meet-up dinner.

The brunette pulled into the parking lot at the field 15 minutes early and spotted her Co-captain and best friend Puck just getting out of his Avalanche. Santana jumped out of her Tacoma and walked around to the back before dropping the tailgate to retrieve her duffle bag that held all of her gear.

"Hey Lopez! You need a hand with anything?" Puck called from a few spots over.

"Yeah can you grab this box and put it over on the bench by the field?" Santana replied.

"No problem." Puck threw his own duffel bag over his shoulder and walked over taking the extra box from Santana's truck before making his way towards the field, Santana right behind him.

Puck set the box on the table that was just outside the fenced off area of the paintball field and began to retrieve his mask and gun from his bag. Santana set her bag down before she sat up on the table and pulled out her phone. Everyone had texted her back and said they would be there. She put her phone in the side pouch of her duffle bag and started to pull up her hair into a high ponytail before snagging the band around her wrist to tie it off.

"You ready to kick some ass these next few weeks?" Puck said rather excitedly.

"Hellz yes I am! We are gonna win this whole damn thing!" Santana replied, putting her fist out for Puck who gladly returned the fist bump.

"Damn straight! Well maybe not straight for you but hell, maybe we will meet some hotties while we are over there." Puck stated with a grin on his face.

"You mean I will be getting all the hotties while your ass watches from the sidelines!" Puck smirked.

"Dream on Lopez. You know the girls can't resist the Puckster!"

Santana could only laugh. "Yeah keep telling yourself that."

Puck playfully shoved her shoulder.

Santana would never admit it to anyone but she always admired Puck. He could be a bit of an ass most times and walked around with an 'I don't give a fuck" attitude more often then not, but he always had her back and the two of them had been best friends since sixth grade.

FLASHBACK

Santana and her family had just moved to Lima after her dad was offered a job as Chief of Surgery at Lima Memorial Hospital. A few of the bullies wanted to make a point to single out the fact that she wasn't wearing a dress like all of the other girls in the class. Santana never took crap from anyone and she certainly wasn't about to let the badass reputation she made for herself at her old school go to waist. When one of the boys in the group decided to call her a dyke, Santana immediately swung landing a perfect punch to the boy's jaw and knocking him to the ground. The two other boys with him immediately grabbed Santana holding both of her arms while the first returned to his feet. Clutching his jaw with his left hand, he winded back his right to take a swing at Santana. Before his hand made contact, a mohawked boy grabbed his fist and swiftly maneuvered his arm behind his back. He applied enough pressure to put him in a simple wrist lock.

"Now now Jesse, didn't your mom ever tell you it's rude to hit a girl?" Puck mocked the now cringing boy.

"This has… nothing to do with you Puckerman!" Retorted through gritted teeth.

"Oh it has everything to do with me St. James! First of all, you don't hit a girl and second, my older sister is gay so think twice before you use that word as an insult for someone who may or may not be gay based off of what they are wearing!"

Applying a little more pressure to the wrist lock and hearing a slight whimper, Puck continued, now addressing the two boys. "Let her go before I beat all of your asses!" Upon hearing that, they released Santana who had been tugging to have them let her arms go.

"Get the fuck outta my face before I break both of your noses!" Santana spat while turning to face the two boys wearing a signature HBIC glare.

They looked at one another and then to Puck who still had a hold of St. James.

"I believe the lady told you to beat it! If the bruise on your friends face is any indication of what will happen to both of you, I suggest you take the opportunity to leave while you can." Puck stated calmly. With that both boys turned around and walked away.

"I think it's about time you apologized to…" Puck looked up from St. James to the brunette.

"Santana… Lopez." She said without looking away from the boy Puckerman still had firmly in his wrist lock.

"Ms. Lopez." Puck repeated her last name after looking back down to Jesse and applying another small amount of pressure to get him to cooperate.

Letting out another small whimper of pain, the boy complied with the command. "I-I'm sorry!"

Santana leaned down to the boys face with a smirk. "You're lucky he stopped you from hitting me. Your ass would've been on the ground if you would have gotten that punch in and believe me… I would have broken more then your jaw."

Santana straightened back up and nodded her head to mohawked boy. With that, Puck released his hold on St. James and shoved him forward.

"If you ever use that word to insult someone, or you wanna pick another fight with my girl here, I'll make sure that wrist is broken." Puck glared at the boy as he stared back not saying anything. "Do you understand me St. James?" Puck asked. Jesse only nodded.

"Get the hell outta my sight!" Puck gestured down the hallway. The boy looked at Santana one more time before gripping his wrist and turning on his heals to go to the nurses office.

Santana turned to Puck once the boy had rounded the corner and was out of sight.

"Thanks, I appreciate the help even though I could have handled those assholes on my own."

"There isn't any doubt in my mind that you could have kicked their asses, but the comment about you being a dyke strikes a nerve with me and I wasn't about to let the homophobic idiot treat you like that whether you're gay or not. I'm Noah by the way. Puckerman, but everyone calls me Puck." he stated holding his hand out.

Santana reached out to return the greeting. "Thanks, and I am by the way… gay."

Noah nodded his head. "I'm cool with it. Kinda bummed because you're super hot, but I guess you and I could get the ladies together." Santana quirked an eyebrow at the Puck's statement.

"What happened to the rather disgusting display of a gentleman I just saw two minutes ago? Santana laughed.

"Hey I got my badass reputation to uphold here too." He replied with a smirk.

"Touché!" They both laughed.

END FLASHBACK

"What's in the box anyways?" Puck asked as Santana was reaching around her waist to buckle her pod belt.

"New uniforms. I figure all that extra money from the sponsor was just sitting there after our tournament and camp fees so why not put it to good use." Puck showed off his signature goofy grin.

"Nice!" Noah exclaimed reaching to open the box. Santana anticipated his reaction to the information and punched him in the shoulder before he could fold back the top of the box.

"What the hell was that for?" he shrieked rubbing his arm.

"Wait for the rest of the team jackass!" She retorted.

"I'm gonna mark your ass so good for that one Lopez!"

"Bring it on." They both smirked.

Santana looked over from Puck to see the rest of the team walking over from the parking lot, all holding their team duffel bags.

As the group approached the table where Santana and Puck were standing, everyone gave a simultaneous "What's up" to each other.

Quinn walked over and put her bag on the table and gave a one armed hug to Santana.

"What's shakin' Fabray?" Santana asked.

"Oh you know, get to hang out with my favorite people for 3 weeks. We so need our 'Lopez/Fabray' tournament ritual. I was able to snag a bottle of vodka from my mom's liquor cabinet."

"I love how my badassness has rubbed off on you so much over the years. I'm so down!" Santana laughed as she high fived the blonde.

"You know I was a badass before you and I became friends right?" Quinn said with a raised eyebrow.

Santana rolled her eyes. Both girls laughed at each other.

Quinn sat down on the bench and began to take her gear out of her bag while everyone else did the same. Santana straightened up to address the rest of her teammates.

"Alright guys, last practice before the big tournament so lets make the most of it." She began. "I'm not gonna get all mushy and shit but you guys have been awesome with keeping up with the commitment to our team and it's been one hell of a great time!"

Everyone cheered their approval of the statement.

"You mean underneath those devil horns, Satan actually likes having us around?" Mercedes asked sarcastically.

"Shut it Wheezy… I can still kick your ass!" The brunette retorted with a sly grin on her face. Mercedes just laughed.

"Am I gonna have to break up a fight here or are you two gonna cool it?" Dave playfully cut in.

Both Santana and Mercedes looked at him with raised eyebrows and an obvious 'We can always double team you instead' look plastered on their faces.

Dave threw is hands up in surrender with a smile on his face while everyone else chuckled at the exchange.

"Alright so what's on the agenda for today's practice?" Sam asked still laughing.

"We won't go too long for today, maybe play a few games of capture the flag and probably end with King of the Hill." Santana answered.

Everyone nodded excitedly.

Paintball always was the highlight of everyone's day and now they would have 3 weeks full of it. When Santana mentioned she was going paintballing with her brother and sister and their cousins about a year ago, everyone in the group was really interested in going as well. Santana had invited them all to join which made it easy to split up teams and have more people to play with. They all loved it so much they decided to start up their own team and have been playing almost everyday after school and on the weekends ever since. Shortly after their first tournament as a team, Santana's mom offered to have her Law Firm sponsor the team which made it easy to get them their equipment and uniforms.

"Hey San, sorry I'm a few minutes late. The guy at the sporting goods store had to track down our shipment of paintballs." Artie said as he walked up with three cases of paintballs. "I have the other 27 boxes in my car."

"It's cool Artie, we were just saying that we were gonna have a light practice today." Artie nodded to Santana and put the boxes down on the table. "These should get us through today's practice then."

"Awesome, I also have an early Christmas present for you guys. I figured our team uniforms have gotten a little ragged over the last few months so I had these made for us." Santana stated as she reached into the box and pulled out The Riots signature dark blue and purple colored long-sleeved jerseys, lifting it up to show off their team name printed in AR Destine font on the front before turning it around to show them the back. _Lopez_ was printed on the back along with the number '1' right below it.

Everyone looked at the new jerseys eyes wide and their jaws practically hitting the floor.

Santana threw her new jersey, gloves, and pants into her bag and began to pull the rest of the teams gear out of the box.

After going threw each of the jerseys and giving them their new gloves and black BDU pants they all gathered around the 3 cases of paintballs to load up their refill pods and hoppers.

"Alright guys, let's split it up. Puck, Sam, Mercedes, and Luke, blue shirts and red flag." They all nodded reaching into their bags and grabbed their blue practice T-shirts and headed off to the other side of the field. "Quinn, Dave, and Artie, you guys are with me. Purple shirts and blue flag. Let's do this!" They each grabbed their purple practice shirts from their bags and headed to the opposite side of the field.

Santana set herself up along the wall with her team. She pulled the plug out of the barrel and put the string around her neck. She pulled her mask down onto her face and looked at Quinn.

"You ready to show them how the girls like to play?" Quinn asked. You couldn't see the shit eating grin on her face through the mask but Santana knew Quinn was sporting one at the moment.

"You know it!" Santana replied holding out her hand. Quinn returned the handshake that only the two girls shared together.

Puck came over the intercom telling Santana that they were set. Santana pushed the button to reply. "Same. You guys know the drill. On three… it's war! One… two… THREE!"

With that, both teams advanced to cover while everyone rained fire in each direction.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you everyone who has alerted my story and added it to their favorites. I would also like to thank the few who have left comments and reviews. It means so much to me. Here is chapter two. This one is longer than the first but I think you will like it. Enjoy**

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After their round of King of the Hill, consisting of Santana, Quinn, Dave, and Artie defending on the hill top shooting down while the others tried fiercely to eliminate all the players, they all walked back over to the table to pack up their gear and head home for the night.

"Alright guys, great practice. Make sure you have all of your practice gear and everything for the next few weeks. Everyone meet at my place at 11 AM to load up the vans. We roll out at noon."

Everyone nodded their understanding. "Alright let's bring it in." Santana said stepping to the middle of the circle with her hand outstretched. Everyone followed and huddled up for the team cheer. "Riots on three…one…two… three!"

"RIOTS!" Everyone shouted in unison.

Everyone backed away and grabbed their bags. Sam smiled at Quinn and said that he would meet her in the parking lot to unload her bags from his car. Quinn returned with a 'one-second' hand gesture. Sam nodded and walked off towards the parking lot.

"You still planning on staying the night at my house tonight Q?" Santana asked with her back turned while pulling her paint-splattered shirt over her head revealing her sports bra and toned back.

Quinn turned to look at her and spotted the area of bruises that started to form on the lower left side of her back where Puck was able to pull off a running spray of fire while Santana was reloading her gun in the second round of capture the flag. Quinn lifted Santana's left arm out of the way to get a better look.

"Yeah, my bags are in Sam's car. You need to ice that when we get back to your place S. Looks like Puck wasn't paying attention to the distance rule when he sprayed you." Quinn said as she let Santana's arm drop freely again.

Santana laughed. "It's not that bad Q, don't get all sappy on me."

Quinn rolled her eyes. "Fine, but when you wake up complaining about how sore you are I don't wanna hear it."

"Yes mom!" Santana replied sarcastically.

Quinn and Santana had a relatively good understanding of one another and what went on in each others heads. Aside from Puck, Quinn was Santana's closest friend. They had met in their school's GSA club shortly after the confrontation with Jesse St. James. Quinn was out and proud and despite what everyone else thought about them, they were just friends. Yes they were both aware of how beautiful the other was and in a lot of instances it seemed logical to date, but they never thought of each other that way. They always had the sister mentality and they were content with it.

Quinn walked out with Santana to her truck, putting her duffel bag in the bed of the truck before turning to Sam who was lifting her other travel bags into the bed as well. Sam walked over to Quinn and gave her a hug before turning to Santana.

"Alright, you ladies stay out of trouble and I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good night!"

"Later Sam." Santana said before hopping into the truck and starting the engine.

Quinn followed suit, shutting the door behind her and buckling up her seat belt.

On the drive back home, the two sat in comfortable silence while listening to the radio, dancing and singing along every now and then when their favorite songs came on.

Santana pulled into her driveway, spotting the two, 6 passenger unmarked vans parked behind her father's SUV. The brunette backed her truck up to the rear of the first van. She shut off the engine and jumped out to drop the tailgate. She tugged on the handle of the van to see if it was unlocked. Luckily it was and she opened the double doors to the spacious trunk.

Santana and Quinn spent the next few minutes transferring the few bags that Quinn didn't need to take inside the Lopez home before shutting the doors. They grabbed their duffel bags from the bed of the truck and walked inside.

Mr. Lopez was sitting in the family room watching the news. Santana stepped into the room with Quinn on her heals.

"Hola Papi." Santana said walking around the couch and bending down to kiss her father on the cheek.

"Hola mija, hello Quinn. How was your practice?" He asked smiling at both girls.

"Just fine Mr. L." We had a lot of fun today." Quinn stated, returning the smile.

"Glad to hear it. Well your Mami should be home from work soon. She said she would grab some pizza on the way."

"Sweet! Well we are gonna go get cleaned up. I have paint in my hair." Santana said running her fingers through her ponytail.

"Same." Quinn said while Mr. Lopez just chuckled.

Both girls walked upstairs to Santana's room. Santana grabbed her change of clothes and headed towards the door.

"I'll take the guest bathroom. Go ahead and use mine." Santana said coolly.

"Alright thanks S."

"No problem." The brunette said before she smiled and walked out the door and down the hall.

After both girls were showered and went down to the kitchen to get some food, the four sat at the dinner table eating and engaging in idle and happy conversation before cleaning up and heading back up to Santana's room.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The next morning, Mrs. Lopez woke the girls up around 8 AM. To say they were excited about the day was an understatement. Although both Quinn and Santana accepted the coffee that was handed to them, neither of them needed it considering the fact that they had bursts of energy from the second they walked out to have breakfast. Smiles and excited conversation about the events of camp played out over their meal. Mr. and Mrs. Lopez wore matching grins as they watched their daughter and her best friend exchange their enthusiasm.

After breakfast Mr. Lopez helped the girls began loading up rest of their bags. Mrs. Lopez packed two coolers with snacks and drinks, one for each van.

Artie showed up about around 10:30 to unload the cases of paintballs from his car into the second van so that everything else could be set on top.

"Ladies." Artie said with a tired grin on his face as he got out of his car and popped the trunk.

"Hey Artie!" The girls said excitedly causing him to squint his eyes as the girls screeched their greeting.

Santana raised a questioning brow. "You were drinking last night weren't you?" Santana asked with a wicked grin on her face.

"Yeah, Puck decided that it was time to celebrate an early victory or something, so all the guys went over to his place after practice. I still have a slight hangover so could you keep the excitement to a minimum. At least try not to talk as load."

Quinn and Santana looked at each other with sinful eyes, knowing full well to take advantage of the new piece of information and use it against the boys once they arrived.

After about 20 minutes or so, the team started pulling into the Lopez driveway. As expected, the boys looked rather tired, all sporting the same look with sunglasses over their eyes. Santana, Quinn and Mercedes all laughed at the sight. Because the girls were more lively then the boys, they decided to ride in the first van with Mrs. Lopez while the boys would try to sleep it off with Mr. Lopez at the wheel.

Mr. and Mrs. Lopez were talking navigation strategy amongst themselves, both taking the first few weeks of Santana's summer break off of work to help transport and chaperone the group for the event. Santana loved her parents. They were always so supportive of her extracurricular activities and even more than ok with everything when she finally got up the courage to tell them she was gay.

She looked away from her still talking parents and had an evil looking smirk on her face as she looked at Quinn and Mercedes.

"You guys wanna see something funny?" Santana asked as she retrieved something from her backpack. She walked over to the van that the boys were in. She could tell they were all practically asleep and even if they weren't they never saw her walk up to the passenger side window. She stretched a hand inside the open window and paused a moment before looking over to the two girls still standing by their van, showing off her HBIC smirk.

A second later she pushed the button of the air horn in her hand and not a moment too soon, all the boys wailed out in agony, covering their ears and begging for Santana to stop. Quinn toppled over in laughter while Mercedes had to hold onto the handle of the door to keep her balance. Santana released the button and poked her head inside the window.

"That's for having a party without us!" She stated. All the boys looked mortified at what had just happened. Santana pulled her head out and stuck the air horn back in the window and pushed the button for a second time almost immediately. Yet again the boys covered their ears and shut their eyes while shouting selective curse words to the brunette. She let go of the button and stuck her head in the window for a second time. "And that's for coming here hung over. Now sleep that shit off because I want you all at least somewhat presentable tonight for the dinner."

Santana turned around and walked back over to the girl's van. Quinn and Mercedes were still laughing uncontrollably. Mr. and Mrs. Lopez watched the whole thing unravel and couldn't do anything more then shake their heads and chuckle.

At exactly noon, the vans pulled out of the driveway and headed towards Columbus.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

During the summer camp portion, everyone would be staying somewhere on the outskirts of the city in a secluded area that would give a more outdoorsy feel to the experience and was away from distraction. As the two vans pulled into the parking spots, everyone hopped out of the vans and stretched for a minute before Santana told everyone to start unloading their stuff. Puck walked over to the registration table with Santana. The line wasn't too long so they jumped right in and waited their turn. Once they had all the paperwork filled out and Mrs. Lopez signed the consent forms as to ensure liability for all the minors, the clock rounded on 4 PM. They headed back over to the vans to get their bags and headed towards the cabins.

"Alright, guys are in 22B and girls are in 18C." Santana read off the cabin assignments to the group who nodded their understanding. "Lets meet back outside the Dinning Commons at 5:30 PM before we head into the party."

Mr. and Mrs. Lopez would be staying in a hotel down the street that was rented out for all the adults who were chaperoning the events. Everyone said their goodbyes and headed off the different forks in the path to their respective cabins.

The girls settle into their bunks and looked around for a minute getting a feel for how things would work the next few weeks. The cabin was sectioned off by two bathrooms and two showers while a central hallway indicated that technically the cabin would be shared with more girls. Thankfully both sides were relatively small so Quinn, Mercedes, and Santana would share the one half and one other team would share the other. Their cabin mates were nowhere to be found, however their bags and gear were all piled into the other rooms indicating that they had already arrived.

The three teammates took quick showers and began looking threw the formal outfits they were told to bring. One for the opening dinner/dance and another for their farewell ball. Mercedes left the two girls to meet up with the boys after already finishing getting ready.

Santana slipped into strapless red dress that hugged her toned figure nicely, showing off a bit of cleavage and rested just above her knees. She wore her hair down and curled the ends after applying light make-up with the exception of heavy eye- liner that defined her beautiful brown orbs.

Quinn's outfit and make- up was more or less the same but instead of a red strapless like Santana's, she wore a light blue dress that hung loosely over her body. It hugged the contours of her perfectly toned body in the places that it needed to and stopped just past her knees.

"Damn we look hot!" Santana said proudly as she looked at the mirror.

Quinn winked at her. "Going to have all the girls chasing after us in no time!"

Both girls walked out of the cabin and down the path to the Dining Commons where they saw the rest of their team. The boys definitely clean up nice when they want to. They all had different color button down shirts and nice slacks with loosely fitted ties.

"Lookin' good Lopez!" Puck said as he walked over to give her a hug.

"Thanks, not so bad yourself." He smiled.

"Well you know… got to impress the ladies and all."

"Alright don't go getting a fat head." She replied, shoving him playfully away.

Santana walked over to the rest of the group and they proceeded inside the Dining Commons. When they walked through the door they realized just how massive the place was. There was an area off to the right with tables that were all set up with nice dining wear and behind that you could see the caterers bring out the prepared food. Immediately to the left was the information table for anyone who hadn't already signed in or needed information about the events that were to take place over the course of the next 3 weeks. If you looked straight back you could see the DJ standing with his turn table mixing the music that was playing idly in the background. And just in front of him was a relatively large dance floor.

They all made their way over to an empty table and sat down. Each side of the table started up their own conversations and talked for about five minutes before they heard a voice come on over the microphone. All the talking died down as they listened to the welcome speech.

"Hey guys I'm Will Schuester one of the activity directors and coaches. It's great to have you all here. I don't have a whole lot to say that you probably don't already know so I just want to say welcome to the First Annual Paintball Summer Camp. It's because of all of you hard chargers that we were able to put this whole thing together. The next few weeks will have mandatory sessions with your respective teams as well as split sessions where you will join other members from other teams. Everyone is welcome to have team practices on the extra fields during down times as well as pick up games. The more active you are the better the experience! Should you have any questions you can find any one of the chaperones or coaches in the red shirts and they will be happy to help you. We hope you enjoy your first meal here as well as the opportunity to dance and mingle afterwards. Thank you!"

Everyone applauded and filed over to start dishing out their food from the various tables.

The Riots went back to their table and kept up a few discussions while they were eating. After finishing their dinner they made their way over towards the dance floor. Per usual, Puck and Sam were already dancing and grinding up behind two girls.

Santana rolled her eyes, tapping on Quinn's arm and pointing to their two horn dog teammates.

Quinn scoffed. "It figures."

Santana laughed and nodded in agreement.

The brunette turned away when she heard a crowd of people to her right cheering on what seemed like two people having a small dance off. She shuffled over a few feet to get a look at the spectacle that had everyone's attention.

Santana stood wide eyed with her mouth agape when she saw the blonde. Moving so fluently with the music like it was a part of her; like she was made to dance. She was wearing a white free-falling sundress that flowed with her toned body stopping just below her knees. Her long tanned legs flowed back and forth to the beat. Her long blonde hair swaying around her back as she danced.

"SANTANA!" Quinn all but shouted trying to get the Latina's attention for what seemed like the fifth time.

"Huh…? What?" She said not taking her eyes off of the blonde who was now dancing to a choreographed step with the Asian boy she had just been battling against.

"You know you should really pick your tongue up off the floor and stop drooling before she sees your leering."

"Shut up I was not leering!" Santana yelled defensively finally turning to look at Quinn.

"Please… your eyes were bulging out of your face and your mouth was stretched out so far to the ground I could practically fit my paintball mask in there!"

Santana rolled her eyes knowing she had been caught. "Whatever Q."

"Well are you gonna go ask her to dance with you or sit here and argue how you weren't just undressing her with your eyes?" Quinn stated with a smirk.

If looks could kill, the death glare Santana shot her would have killed her, brought her back, then killed her again.

Quinn couldn't help but chuckle at her friends antics.

"Look she's over at the counter getting something to drink. Just go ask her to dance."

"Q, I can't just ask her to dance, I don't even know if she bats for our team!"

"Well she's staring at you right now, so I'm guessing she does." Quinn said gesturing with her eyes for Santana to look.

Santana turned around thinking Quinn was pulling a joke on her. Sure enough the blonde was looking at her with a sexy grin on her face that sent a shiver over Santana's entire body.

The blonde turned to her left to a short brunette and said something to her. Santana shifted just long enough see Quinn who was still looking at her with a funny smirk on her face.

Santana looked back and saw that the blonde was gone.

_Are you kidding me? I turn away for two seconds and she disappears!_ Santana thought as she mentally kicked herself for taking her eyes off the blonde, even if it was for a brief moment.

The Latina froze when she heard a seductive voice behind her talking into her ear.

"Do you want to dance with me?"

Santana slowly turned her head to look up and over her right shoulder where she found herself staring into the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. The blonde smiled at her and it made the Latina go weak in the knees.

_What the hell is wrong with you Lopez? For Christ sake, pull yourself together! It's a girl for crying out loud. You've dated girls before, you've talked to girls before… she's a girl. JUST TALK TO HER! She's not going to bite you!_ The inner war with her conscience was starting to annoy her. She loosened up and smiled at the blonde and nodded.

"I'd love to." Santana said finally finding her voice.

"Awesome. I'm Brittany." She said as she grabbed the Latina's hand and moved them closer to the middle of the dance floor.

"Santana." The Latina said. Brittany's smile grew wider when she learned the brunettes name.

"That's a really beautiful name."

Santana felt her cheeks burn a little at the compliment. She dipped head down to hide the blush.

Brittany let go of her hand once they reached the middle of the dance floor but didn't turn around to face her. She simply reached back and put her left hand on Santana's thigh and drew her in. The Latina's instinctively reached up and rested her hand on Brittany's right hip. The blonde, setting the rhythm, started to sway to the song blaring through the speakers. Santana moved along with Brittany in unison.

They danced like this for a few more songs before it finally got too hot with all the bodies surrounding them. Santana was the one to lead them over to the counter this time. The Latina gestured for the blonde to take the only stool left, which happened to be right next to Quinn and the short brunette that Brittany had been speaking to earlier.

"Oh hey girls! Quinn was just enlightening me on Santana's amazing skills on the paintball field, and I also noticed your well developed dance moves. Were you two having fun?" The shorter brunette said in a sing song voice while addressing Brittany and Santana.

Santana couldn't help but laugh at the small girl's choice of vocabulary. For such a simple sentence she sure seemed to drag it out into more than it had to be.

"I sure was." Brittany said smiling up at the Latina.

"I was too." Santana said with a cheeky grin plastered on her face, never looking away from the blonde.

"Hey S, this is Rachel." Quinn introduced her new friend to Santana.

Santana looked away for a moment to look at Rachel. The smaller brunette sported a wide smile as she extended her hand out to the Latina.

"Nice to meet you Rachel." Santana said returning the greeting and smiled slightly before looking back at the beaming Brittany. The two just silently looked at one another as if they were having a lifetime of conversations with one look.

The exchange didn't go unnoticed by Quinn and Rachel who looked at one another and smiled.

As if having their own internal conversation, Quinn extended her hand out to Rachel who gladly took it and jumped off of the stool.

Quinn leaned over to Santana. "Take my seat. We are gonna go dance for a bit."

Santana slightly nodded, never looking away from Brittany as she took Quinn's seat.

Quinn chuckled as she walked away and lead Rachel to the dance floor. Once they found a spot that wasn't over crowded, the music shifted and slowed.

"May I have this dance?" Quinn asked extending her hand out.

Rachel blushed, trying hard to cover it with a smile and nodded. She inched closer to Quinn who lowered her left hand to Rachel's waist and pulled her in, closing the rest of the distance. Rachel reached up and placed her arm around the blonde's neck and smiled. The two swayed to the music and talked happily to one another about their drive to camp and how long they had been playing paintball. They both smiled to each other and almost instantly looked over from their spot on the dance floor to their friends who were still sitting at the counter. Santana had her arm resting on the counter top with a look of utter amazement as Brittany was explaining something to her, probably in a lot of detail, judging by how much the blonde was talking with her hands.

Rachel chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Quinn asked as she looked at Rachel.

"Do you think they know yet?

"Know what?" The blonde asked, still unaware of what the shorter girl was talking about.

"Do you think they know that they are in love with each other?"

Quinn giggled and shook her head. "I don't think they have a clue."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks for the reviews and story alerts! These past few days I have had some free time so the chapters are coming pretty fast, however they might slow a bit due to the fact that I have class and undoubtedly will be starting work soon. Again thank you so much for the reviews. It really does mean so much to me. Here is chapter 3!**

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Santana and Brittany had been talking happily for about 30 minutes after Quinn and Rachel had went to dance. They chatted about all sorts of things unrelated to paintball. Everything from where they went to school, what year they were, what sorts of things they liked to do. They each learned that they were both going to be seniors and that Santana was the Commanding Officer and Color Guard Commander in her ROTC program at school. The brunette learned that Brittany was on her schools nationally ranked dance team and that they were personally picked to dance as cheerleaders for an new movie.

They were so captivated by each others activities and were both surprised at how easy it was to keep the conversation moving. No awkward silences or stumbling to try to find things to talk about. Each new topic flowed into the next before they finally got around to their current activities there at camp.

"So how long have you been paintballing?" Brittany asked, very interested to hear the Latina's answer.

"Well, I've played off and on since I was around 12 or so. My older brother and sister got me into it. I didn't officially play on a team until about a year ago when my group of friends joined my cousins, siblings, and I for a day at the field. Since then it's been non stop action with a few tournaments here and there and our normal season matches with the local teams." Santana answered smoothly. "How about you?"

"Oh that's awesome! I've played since I was 8. My dad plays on a professional team with his friends. I would always go watch his matches and got really excited whenever he would let me wear all of his equipment around. I actually think my mom has a whole photo album dedicated to our pretend duels around the house."

Santana laughed, silently wishing she could get her hands on said photo album. She could picture a miniature blonde running around her house in oversized gear, ducking behind couches and crawling underneath tables in her own makeshift arena.

"So what team do you play for?" The blonde asked.

"I'm captain of The Riots. Quinn is on my team as well. She and I are the forward attackers along with my boy Puck." She said pointing out the mohawked boy who had his arm around the red head she had seen him dancing with earlier. He was happily chatting away with Sam, Luke, and two other boys she had never seen before. "Sam and Luke are also on my team." She said pointing out Sam with his ruffled blonde hair and Luke who was about a inch taller then Sam and had spiked jet black hair.

As if sensing the wheels turning in the brunette's head, Brittany answered the unasked question about the mystery boys her teammates were also talking to.

"That's Kurt and Blaine. My teams resident gay couple!" she exclaimed proudly.

Santana turned and smiled at Brittany. "What team do you guys play for?"

"I'm captain of the-"

"YO BRITTANY!" The blonde was cut off.

Both girls turned to see the Asian boy that Brittany was dancing with earlier that evening accompanied by an abnormally tall gangly boy at his side.

"Hey guys what's up?" Brittany asked happily, not thinking anything about the fact that they had interrupted a conversation.

Santana on the other had was a bit annoyed at the intrusion.

"Night match, you down?" The taller boy asked. "We need more players."

"Definitely!" Brittany all but shouted in excitement.

She turned to look at the brunette. "Do you want to play with us?"

Any displeasure she had about the previous interruption to their conversation went away when the blonde grabbed her hand and looked at her with a wide grin shining across her face. Santana nodded without any hesitation at Brittany's question.

_God if she smiles like that I don't know how I will ever say no_. Santana thought to herself.

Brittany jumped off the stool bouncing up and down with anticipation. Santana had a toothy grin watching the blonde's enthusiasm.

"Oh god I'm so rude, Santana, meet Mike," she said gesturing to the Asian boy, "and Finn." Now pointing to the gangly one.

Santana stood up from the stool and greeted both boys with a small smile.

"How many people do we need?" Brittany asked turning her attention back to the boys.

"Well we just need to find six more people. Coach Schue said he would let more people play seeing as there was so much interest. I just asked Tina. She's going up to grab her gear and will meet us over at the field." Mike answered.

"Yeah we also ran into Drew on the way over and he's getting changed now too." Finn added. Mike and Brittany nodded.

"ARTIE… DAVE!" Santana shouted to the boys who had happened to be walking past the group.

Both boys stopped and turned towards the cluster of people; Santana waved them over.

"Hey you guys up for a night match?" Santana asked eagerly to her teammates. Artie and Dave perked up even more so then they already were. "We need more people for the game."

"You had us at night match!" Dave said eagerly.

"Sweet, we are playing at field 4." Mike said. Both boys nodded.

After short introductions, Santana said she would get some more people to play after spotting most of her group chatting amongst themselves. Mike, Finn, Artie, and Dave left to go change and grab their gear while Santana grabbed Brittany's hand and headed over towards her teammates. Mercedes was deep in conversation with the boy that Brittany had pointed out to be Kurt. Blaine was standing happily by his side talking with the red head Puck seemed to have a thing for. Puck, Quinn, and Rachel were all huddled together in a discussion of their own.

"Hey guys!" Santana loudly enough to be heard over the music.

Everyone turned to see them walking over, all with smiles on their faces.

"Ah, my favorite lezbro! Who is your new friend?" Puck asked with a smirk and wiggling his eyebrows towards Brittany.

Santana rolled her eyes and introduced the blonde to all her friends. Brittany formally introduced Blaine and Kurt, and Puck introduced his red-headed crush as Stacey.

After a numerous amount of handshakes Santana finally stated the reason for their interruption of everyone's conversations.

"They are having night matches and we need more people. They bumped it up to 12 against 12. We need four more players. Quinn looked at Rachel who nodded excitedly.

"You can count us in." Quinn said as she wrapped her arm around Rachel's waist. Brittany caught a glimpse of the blush creeping up the small brunette's face and couldn't help the silly looking smile that happened to be creeping up hers.

"Shoot I'm always in!" Puck said excitedly. He held out his fist and Santana returned the fist bump immediately, happy to have her best friends in on the game.

"I think Kurt and I are gonna stay here if that's ok with you guys. We were just discussing our favorite picks for American Idol and the conversation was getting heated." Kurt nodded furiously in agreement.

"Oh my gosh! I love American Idol! Do you mind if I join you two?" Stacey asked. Both Kurt and Mercedes looked over to her with adoring smiles knowing they had another person to share their passion with. They held out their hands for her to come stand next to them. Santana suppressed a laugh and rolled her eyes.

"Yeah… I'm gonna come play with you guys." Blaine said with a small laugh. "I get enough American Idol from this one at home." He looked at Kurt while giving his had a tight squeeze.

Kurt playfully looked hurt by the statement, trying to mask the smile and failing. Kurt knew that Blaine was a bit more masculine then he was and never thought anything of it. They both had so much in common but Blaine liked to play sports more than talk gossip like the male diva did. Kurt loved him none the less.

"Awesome! Go get changed and grab your gear. We play in 20 minutes on field 4!" Brittany squealed with excitement.

Everyone nodded. Blaine gave Kurt a quick kiss and headed out with Quinn and Rachel. Puck hugged Stacy before he turned to Brittany and Santana who all turned to walk out the door.

"Alright I'll meet you guys over there." Puck said coming to the fork that split the guys cabins from the girls.

"Bye." The two said together as they watched Puck take off in a slow jog towards his cabin.

"I'm in 18C, where are you guys at?" Santana asked looking up at Brittany.

"18B, we are one cabin over from you." Brittany said happily. Santana was a bit disappointed that the other side of the cabin she was in didn't house her beautiful friend and her teammates.

They stopped just outside Brittany's cabin and turned toward one another.

"So I'll see you in a few minutes then?" The brunette asked shyly.

"You will." The blonde answered with a smile. "And I can't wait!"

Santana returned the smile before Brittany engulfed the Latina in a hug. The brunette snaked her arms around the blonde's waist to return the hug.

Santana could smell the lavender in her hair. _God she feels amazing._ Santana thought.

Brittany pulled away and turned to her door. She looked back over her shoulder just as she cracked the door open, "I'll meet you up at the field." She said with a wink and walked inside.

Santana just stood there looking at the closed door that Brittany had walked into. Nobody could have wiped away the smile she had across her face.

"Hey Romeo, you gonna change or do I need to inform a certain blonde about your love affair with a door?" Quinn's voice rang out behind her.

Santana turned around and saw the smirk on her best friend's face.

"You're funny. Hilarious even! I could say something similar about the fact that you were looking at Rachel with sex eyes when you two we talking to Puck." She replied with a raised eyebrow and a 'what now' look, knowing that Quinn wouldn't have a comeback to that.

Quinn huffed and went back into their cabin to finish getting her gear.

"Santana 1, Quinn 0." She whispered to herself as she followed her friend inside.

In a matter of minutes, Santana had pulled on her camouflage BDU pants and laced up her black high-top boots. She pulled her sports bra on, followed by one of her dark blue practice shirts.

Quinn handed her her pod belt and buckled it around her waist. She grabbed her mask and gun and both girls headed out towards the direction of the fields. Having not had time to explore before dinner, they guessed that all of the stadium style lights would be a good place to look since it was a night match after all.

They walked up the path and heard a group of people laughing and chatting. If anything else failed and they didn't recognize anyone in the group they could certainly make out Finn. They boy really was too tall for his own good. He was at least 3 inches taller than Puck. Santana let out a slight chuckle.

"There they are!" Artie said looking over to the two girls.

Everyone turned around and all eyes were on them making them stop in their tracks about 3 yards from where everyone was standing.

"Could you make the welcome anymore awkward?" Santana said with an annoyed look on her face.

Just as the last word left her mouth an arm snaked around her stomach and pulled her in.

"I think I can make it a little less awkward for you." A seductive whisper came from an unmistakable Brittany who was now resting her chin on the Latina's shoulder. She could feel a hot breath tickle her ear.

Santana practically went limp. _Fuck that was hot! What is this girl doing to me? How did I not even hear her come up behind us? Alright Lopez, time to start throwing it back at her. She wants to play dirty… hope she can take it just as much as she dishes it._ Santana regained her composure.

With that thought, Santana grabbed the blonde's hand that was comfortably resting across her stomach. She pulled Brittany around in a rather graceful twirl catching her with her free arm and leaning her back. Any normal person would have probably fallen with the amount of strength it took to hold the girl with one arm and had Brittany not been so graceful, she certainly would have been on the ground. But no. She rested safely in the crook of Santana's arm looking up into brown eyes. _I praise my parents for making me take so many dance lessons when I was little_. The brunette thought, silently patting herself on the back for being able to pull that off.

Santana leaned down just a little closer to Brittany, their faces only inches apart.

"I think I can handle it… but I appreciate the offer." The Latina said just as seductively with a sly smile on her face.

Brittany's breath hitched. She couldn't form words anymore.

Santana slowly brought the blonde back up to an upright position pulling her arm back, never looking away.

"Uh hum" Quinn let out a fake cough.

Both girls finally broke their gaze and turned to the group who was just staring at them. A few with a 'you go girl' smirks while the others had their jaws to the ground.

"Well then, now that that is out of the way, can we start the match now?" Dave said with his smirk still plainly visible.

Santana and Brittany nodded, while their friends chuckled.

Getting the rest of the introductions out of the way, everyone walked over to where the opposing team was huddled.

"Ah finally decided to join this blood bath huh? Don't answer that. I can smell the stench of fear working threw your cores as we speak! I'm Coach Sylvester and I'll be refing this pathetic excuse of a pick-up game."

Everyone gave questioning looks, trying to decide if she was serious or just pulling their chains. Choosing to stay quiet, they let the women continue.

"Since we have larger teams I need two captains from each to come up here so we can get this battlefield laced with bodies!"

_Definitely a good choice to stay quiet. This women is either on something or she's off her rocker… and bad._ Both teams thought in agreement. Really no words were needed. The looks everyone were giving each other said it all.

The other team huddled together to discuss who their team leaders were.

Puck and Mike just looked at one another and nodded. They stepped forward and simultaneously pushed Santana and Brittany forward.

The two were thrown off guard and caught their footing before turning back to the two boys and the rest of their team; both wearing a matching death glare. Both girls read the expressions on all of their faces, more like looks of fear because their eyes were shooting back from Santana and Brittany over to Coach Sylvester.

Santana turned around, understanding that they wanted them to be the ones getting eaten alive by the creepy ass women. The brunette mumbled under her breath, "Pansies!"

"Ah blondie… sandbags! Good, I'm glad some people take some initiative and take control. That's what I like to see!" Both girls wore a look of disgust at the offensive nicknames.

The two chosen captains from the opposing team stepped forward to meet Brittany and Santana and then looked at Coach Sylvester.

"Alright, red tape and blue tape, one for each team. One strip on the front of your masks and one your backs. Got it? If you don't, too bad. You will just get shot by your own team which I have no objections to. Match is capture the flag. Each team to their respective sides and on my whistle, WAR!" The crazy women said raising her fist in the air at the last word.

Brittany and Santana each made their way back to the group, tearing off strips of tape and helping stick them on everyone's back before turning to each other and doing the same.

The group moved over to their side of the field and began lining up along the wall.

Quinn and Rachel stood side by side as they pulled down their masks. Quinn looked to her right to see Santana with Brittany right beside her.

"Ready to rock and roll Fabray?" The Latina said holding out her hand.

"Kick ass and take names!" Quinn replied returning their personalized handshake.

Santana turned to look at Brittany who smiled at her.

"You gonna be able to keep up with me San? The blonde asked with a challenging smirk.

Santana smiled when she heard Brittany use her nickname. "Oh honey, I was made for this. I just hope you can keep up with me." She retorted playfully, matching Brittany's smirk.

"First one to get the flag then baby. Bring it!"

If there was one thing you never did, it was challenge Santana Lopez.

"You're on!"

Both girls pulled their masks down and looked forward awaiting the whistle.

Coach Sylvester looked left then right, then center. She blew the whistle and backed away to the side of the field holding her shield.

Both teams plowed forward to cover, spraying fire in every direction.

Santana ran forward and slid down onto her knees to one of the lowered bunkers before flinging herself forward to her stomach. She peered around the edge of the bunker quickly and opened fire on an opposing member trying to switch positions and hit him square in the torso with three paint splatters. He raised his gun over his head and ran off to the side of the field. She pulled her head back to take cover almost immediately just as a few load pops indicated that the other team saw her. She stayed low and looked back to see that Tina and Blaine had been hit and were walking off to the side.

"DAVE!" She screamed getting his attention from the Stand-Up bunker he was settled behind stationed diagonally from her position.

He looked over to her, keeping his body behind the barrier.

"SWITCH LEFT, COVER FIRE ON PILLER ONE!" He nodded quickly in understanding before turning positioning himself one the opposite side of his barrier.

"GO!" He screamed opening fire on the bunker Santana had instructed him to.

Santana stood up in a low crouch and took of running forward to the Snake and making it safely. She looked back again quickly to see how her team was advancing. Finn and Artie had been hit already and were off to the side with Tina and Blaine.

Rachel, Drew, and Mike were holding strong in the back field. Quinn was on the other side of the field from Santana more or less in the same position but ducking behind one of the Aztec bunkers. Puck was now on his stomach in Santana's previous position. Brittany… _wait where is Brittany?_ Santana shuffled up and peaked over the bunker she was behind. Brittany was pretty much stuck behind one of the Mini-Bricks in the center of the field. Guessing she didn't have her cover fire after Finn was hit, she was pinned down. Santana's protective instincts took over, she knew immediately she was going to get the blonde out of that position and into a more manageable one.

"K-7!" Artie yelled from the sideline. Indicating that their team had eliminated seven of the opposing players.

Not knowing if Brittany would understand her codes, she decided to try simple jargon that was pretty much universal.

"BRITTNEY!" She screamed hoping the blonde would hear her.

"SANTANA!" Brittany yelled back. Her voice laced with 'I'm a little busy right now Santana.'

_Damn, beautiful and fierce… I like it!_

None-the-less the brunette had her resolve. _I'm not gonna make it that easy to get the flag before her. Gots to have some sort of a challenge don't I?_

"SHUFFLE LEFT… PILLER! I'LL COVER YOU!" Santana shouted meaning she wanted Brittany to switch positions to the taller bunker to her left.

Santana realized that they were now more than half way advanced on the other teams territory so she singled out the obvious places the opposing players would be.

"ON THREE!" She heard Brittany yell in reply.

"ONE…TWO… THREE!" Santana screamed. She popped up slightly and shot out countless number of rounds towards three different spots trying to give Brittany enough time to move without getting too much fire in her direction. Santana ducked down quickly, listening for any indication that their plan had worked and the blonde was able to move to her new spot. When she didn't see anyone move to leave the field she knew her plan had succeeded. She was also glad to know that her guess of the opponents positions were correct and she surprisingly was able to knock out another person. She was able to locate the other four peoples positions and got an idea of the rest of her teams status. Dave and Drew were now out, leaving Santana, Brittany, Puck, Quinn, Rachel, and Mike. _Scratch that. Puck was just hit with two in the leg and Rachel took one to the shoulder._

Santana poked her head up to check before she moved up to her next position. She popped open her hopper and reached around to her belt to grab a refill pod. She clicked it open and quickly poured in the new paintballs and shut the lid.

With one quick breath she shot up and sprinted forward. As if sliding into a base, she slid along one of the parallel bunkers and past the edge, turning, before firing off a few shots into an opposing player. She quickly recovered and took cover behind one of the Dorito Bunkers on the side as the last three people caught her position and switched their fire.

Quinn was moving up her side just as fast as Santana, and Brittany was pushing forward as well, taking the opportunity of the distraction that Santana had caused. Quinn was able to get a clean shot to the player closest to Santana when they tried to move into an exposed position to catch the Latina off guard.

"K-10! D1... BACK CENTER!" Dave, Artie, and Puck cried out from the side, revealing the positions of the last two rival players.

Either Brittany understood their codes or she was already aware of the positions, but she sprinted forward, unloading on the player that was situated behind the bunker just in front of Quinn on the left side before ducking down into her knew position. Her hard work had paid off and the player stood up and walked over to the side lines.

_Alright, one more left._

Trying to hold off Quinn, Santana, and Brittany was proving rather difficult for the lone opponent but surprisingly he was doing rather well. Shifting back and forth trying to keep the three girls away, was working for the moment. Mike held back and watched the whole thing unfold.

Quinn sprinted forward and made a b-line towards one of the center bunkers directly next to Brittany about 10 feet away.

"HAIL MARY!" Santana heard Quinn shout, knowing the Latina would know what she was saying. Santana began crawling forward to get into position to make her move.

"YOUR COMMAND!" Santana yelled back once she was in position.

"NOW!" Quinn ordered a second later and Santana and her best friend sprinted towards the central bunker where the last player was, raining fire from both sides.

The player happened to be facing towards Quinn when the sudden burst started up and kept his fire focused on her, hitting her in the stomach with 8 shots all clustered together. Knowing the sacrifice could have gone either way, Santana was able to shoot him while his attention was away from her. Quinn would have done the same had Santana been the one to be shot at.

Santana smiled at Quinn who was hunched over clutching her stomach and taking deep breaths.

"Way to go Q, nice work!" Santana praised her friend, walking backwards towards the flag. She knew that it had to hurt more than usual considering how close they were to the player who sprayed her with paintballs.

When she turned around she stopped dead in her tracks to a beaming Brittany who had the flag in her hands, waving it slowly back and forth.

_Where the hell did she come from? She was behind us the whole time! Is she a fucking ninja or something?_ Santana thought, her eyes wide in surprise.

"Looks like I won the bet, hot stuff." The blonde said with a seductive smirk.

Santana huffed. "You do know we just did all the work, right?"

"Actually, my statement before we started was, and I quote, 'First one to the flag baby'… You never said anything about who had the last kill." Brittany stated matter-of- factually, the smirk never leaving her face.

Santana just stood there speechless.

The rest of their team ran over cheering at their victory, high-fiving one another and giving hugs.

Rachel ran straight to Quinn who was slowly starting to regain her composure.

"Hey are you alright?" Rachel asked with a worried expression.

"Yeah I'm ok. I just need a minute." Quinn replied, still holding her stomach and scrunching her face up in pain as she tried to stand upright.

Santana turned to Quinn when she heard Rachel call her over and noticed her friend still hadn't fully recovered.

"Q, lay down on your back and let me see." Santana said now concerned. The hits she took were unpleasant but she had taken a lot worse before and from a much closer distance; she always recovered after a few deep breaths. This time she didn't.

Santana ran over and helped Quinn lay down. She noticed that the area on her shirt where she had been hit didn't have as much paint as it should have. She slowly lifted up her shirt to reveal a shockingly large black and blue bruise on her abs, blood starting to trickle down slowly from a few spots of broken skin.

"Geez, what the fuck!" Santana said as her anger started to build up.

Brittany looked at over the Latina's shoulder trying to gauge the severity of the situation. She noticed the bruise and blood, quickly removing her mask and untying the bandana she was wearing on her head and handing it to Santana. The brunette took it from the blonde and pressed it to Quinn's stomach.

"COACH GET OVER HERE!" Rachel yelled. Knowing now what Brittany and Santana had suspected had happened.

Coach Sylvester ran over to the group surrounding Quinn.

"Alright, back up everyone give her some air. What happened?" She said trying to see what was going on.

The fuming Latina stood up and was seeing red. She broke out into a sprint, charging at the last boy they had defeated in the match.

"Santana… don't!" Quinn shouted from the ground, just as the brunette grabbed a hold of the boy pulling him off balance and slamming him to the ground. 

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**Alright everyone is probably wondering what just happened. Don't worry… you will find out next chapter. Don't hate me. =)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Wow you all are seriously amazing! =D All the reviews made me so happy as well as the story alerts and favorites!**

**Props to besmart for the close guess at the problem.**

**Chapter 4 for you! Cheers!**

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"Santana… don't!"

The Latina heard her best friend yell out to her as she yanked the boy down and lunged on top of him. She knew she shouldn't let her anger get the best of her. She knew that attacking him would probably get her kicked out of camp and worse, she wouldn't be able to play in the Championship Match. _No. This was personal._ Not only did this asshole violate one of the rules of paintball, he violated a rule that could potentially cause serious physical injury. The one thing that sent her completely over the edge was the fact that this was her best friend that he had hurt.

Santana Lopez could be a royal pain in the ass and the worst enemy you could ever hope to have, if and when, you were unfortunate enough to be on her bad side. She didn't trust easily. If you were one of the select few to see her with all of her walls down, you would know that Santana Lopez would protect you with her life. Her family, her team, Puck and Quinn especially.

This was one of those moments.

Santana grabbed him firmly by the t-shirt to hold him down before landing a punch across his face, screaming angrily in Spanish. Before she could get in another, soft toned arms lifted her off of the boy and pulled her back. Santana struggled for a moment before another set of more masculine arms restrained her.

"You bitch!" The boy said after rolling on his side and spitting out a mouth full of blood.

The Latina yet again started on another rant in Spanish before Coach Sylvester bellowed out.

"ENOUGH! GET A GRIP AND SHUT UP!" The Latina silenced herself immediately but remained glaring at the boy as he attempted to stand up.

The coach was now looking at Santana with an extremely pissed off face.

"Now, tell me why you just decided to go ape shit!" Coach Sylvester said in a calmer voice then before, yet still wearing an angry glare.

"Why don't you ask the cheater!" The brunette huffed in rage.

Sensing that her anger level had dropped slightly, the two sets of hands loosened their grip on the Latina but didn't completely let her go. She turned her head slightly to see Brittany and Puck, both looking just as angry as Santana, but surprisingly not at her. She followed their gazes to the boy who was now standing waiting to see the Coach ban her for hitting him.

"What are you talking about you psycho? I didn't cheat! I walked off the field after I was hit. You were the one who attacked me!." The boy yelled back.

"You can't just go around accusing people of cheating. I watched the whole last play and he didn't do anything wrong!" Coach Sylvester exclaimed.

"Oh really? So the frozen paintballs he was shooting doesn't count as cheating?" Santana shouted in retort. Everyone that the boy had been playing with gasped and looked at him with shocked eyes.

"What the hell are you talking about? That shit's illegal. I'm not stupid!" He tried covering up.

Santana clenched her jaw and yanked out of Brittany and Pucks grasp. Before they could stop her she picked up the boy's gun, switched off the safety, and pulled the plug out of the barrel. She reached up and crooked her finger around the lock and snapped it back, loading the gun. The brunette swung it around and aimed it to Coach Sylvester's shield that was propped up against a tree and pulled the trigger 10 times. One by one each of the paintballs ricocheted off the shield with a load crack but only leaving trace amounts of paint. Santana walked over the few feet and picked up her gun that she had dropped on the ground when she ran over to help Quinn. She then aimed her gun at the same shield and shot off another ten rounds. All of them shattered, covering the shield with paint. Santana stalked over and handed her gun to Puck before she continued over to the boy who was now looking down at the ground. She opened up his hopper and held her hand out, palm-up, in front of him. She turned the gun over and poured the remainder of his paintballs over her hand while watching most of them fall to the ground. She cupped the few that remained in her hand and reached over, placing the freezing cold paintballs in Coach Sylvester's awaiting hands. Santana stepped backwards a few feet towards Puck and Brittany, before dropping the boys gun forcefully in a push-shove way at his feet. Now that she had completed her demonstration she spoke for the first time, wearing a signature HBIC death glare.

"Let me give you a little bit of advice for future reference. Number one… before you call me a bitch, make sure it's actually me who's in the wrong. Number two… you're right, frozen paintballs are illegal, but not _just_ in paintball. Did you know that if my friend decides to report you, you could be charged criminally for assault with a deadly weapon? And number three… if you are going to lie about it, make sure it's not me you're trying to convince. You better hope to god that those cuts and bruises is all she got because if it's not, I swear to God I will kill you."

Everyone stared at Santana in silence. Nothing more needed to be said.

Rachel helped Quinn to her feet and the blonde slowly walked over placing a hand on the Latina's shoulder. Santana felt her muscles loosen at the touch and turned to see her best friend looking at her with a loving smile. Nobody had ever stood up for her the way Santana did and she couldn't have been more proud of the fact that brunette managed to control her temper even after the boy had shot back all those remarks.

Quinn dropped her hand and reached back to pull Rachel into her side. Santana returned her gaze back to the front.

"What's your name son?" Coach Sylvester asked the boy, trying to stay as calm as possible. You could still manage to catch her anger as she spoke.

"Nick… Johnson." He said softly, his head still dipped down in defeat.

"Mr. Johnson, I will escort you to your cabin and you will pack your things. We are going to call your parents and have them come get you. You are henceforth banned from competition paintball until a hearing is scheduled with the board for a final punishment."

The woman turned to Quinn to address her.

"I want you to head to the nurses station to get looked at and I will call your chaperone to inform them of the situation. I also want to ask if you would like to press charges. As your friend stated it is a criminal offense and must be reported to the police."

Quinn looked at Santana before she glanced at Rachel, who gave her a reassuring smile.

"I will tell the police what happened, but I don't want to press charges. I think your punishment is enough to tell him never to do it again." She finished as she looked over at Nick, who had a look of disbelief.

"Very well. Once your cleaned up, come over to my office and we will get everything sorted out." Quinn nodded at Coach Sylvester who turned to leave with Nick in tow.

Everyone watched them walk off the field and into the darkness of the trees towards the cabins. The opposing team followed with quick glances to everyone, never saying a word. Puck, Brittany, and Rachel walked back over to their group who was still about 30 feet away after Santana glanced at them with a 'can you give us a minute' look.

"Do you want me to help you to the nurses station Q?" Santana asked as she watched the their friends walk out of ear shot, then turning to her friend.

"I'm ok, Rachel offered to go with me. You did more than enough for me today." She said as the ends of her lips curled up.

"Alright, I'll take our gear back to the cabin and I'll stop by and see you after ok?"

"Fair enough… thanks San… for sticking up for me."

"Don't mention it. Rules are rules and that shit is not acceptable."

Quinn rolled her eyes. Santana wouldn't ever give anyone the benefit of the doubt and just accept a compliment or 'thank you.' She always had to turn even the most precious moments into something slightly less sappy with something like, a 'rules are rules' line.

"Oh please, you totally love me or you wouldn't have gotten so crazy." The shorter blonde said with sleek smirk.

"What? No! I just hate it when people try to pull stupid shit like that and try to get away with it!" The Latina said defensively.

"Ok S, whatever you say." Quinn said still wearing a funny smile letting her friend think she won the debate. Santana just gave her a goofy look.

Rachel was walking back over with Brittany right behind her.

"Hey, you ready to head down there now?" Quinn nodded.

"Here I'll take her stuff. I gotta take my gear back anyway." Santana said gesturing to Rachel's filled hands. Rachel nodded her thanks and handed Quinn's gear to her.

Quinn was able to walk so she didn't need to be babied, but she couldn't go very fast because every slight twist caused her to wince. Rachel stuck close by and entwined their arms together and they walked off the field into the night.

"Hey… you ok?" Brittany asked, looking over from Rachel and Quinn's last spot by the tree line and seeing the small glimmer of worry in the Latina's eyes.

"Yeah I'm good. Just tired." Santana answered, straitening up and smiling at the blonde.

"Alright. Do you wanna start heading back?"

"Yeah, I just need to get my gear and we can head out." Brittany nodded and followed the Latina over to the group of their compiled team. Puck turned towards his best friend when her heard her walking up behind them. He wrapped her in a one armed hug and looked down at her.

"Hey, we are gonna start heading back to the cabins. It's getting late and we gotta be up early for our sessions tomorrow."

"Since when do you notice it's late? Aren't you the one who thrives off of 3 hours of sleep each night?" Santana jokingly asked.

"Yeah well all the _excitement_… has taken a lot out of me. Plus you disrupted my nap with your bitch move this morning before we left so I need to catch up on my sleep."

Santana rolled her eyes. Puck handed her gun that he was still holding and everyone said their goodnight's before heading off the field towards the cabins.

_I have a weird feeling like I'm missing something._ Santana looked down at her attire trying to figure out what it was. _My gun, Quinn's gun, her pod belt, my pod belt, her mask, my… shit! Where is my mask?_ Santana turned around to see a smiling Brittany dangling her mask by the adjustment strap by her index finger.

"Forgetting something?" Brittany said with a chuckle.

"More like remembering, thanks." She let out a laugh and took her mask from the blonde.

The two started to walk off the field and down the path.

"I'm sorry I lost it earlier." Santana said shyly.

"Why? You were standing up for your friend and you had every right to be pissed off. I was too and I barely know Quinn."

"No I mean I don't normally let my temper get to me like that." Santana said, not bothering to correct the blonde by saying the boy had broken the rules.

"Look San I get it. You don't have to explain."

"You're not mad or scared of me?" Santana stopped walking and looked at the blonde for conformation. Brittany stopped and looked at her confused by the question.

"No, why would I be scared of you?"

"I don't know. It's just that most people don't really stay too close to me after they see me loose it like that. They think I will hurt them or something." Santana said in a lowered voice, almost whispering the last part of the sentence, keeping her head down to the ground.

Brittany heard it though and could see that that was one of the things that terrified the Latina. People were scared of her for fighting and protecting the people she loves. The blonde stepped closer to the brunette. The blonde lifted her chin with her finger so that she could look into her eyes.

"I'm _not_ most people." Brittany said calmly as she smiled at Santana.

Santana stared deep into blue eyes, searching for any kind of doubt in the blonde's words. She found none. Brittany caught the slight flicker in the Latina's eyes when she had glanced down to the blonde's lips and back up to her eyes. They stared at each other for a few more moments. Brittany leaned down slowly, closing the gap between them. She glanced once more into brown eyes before closing hers. Their lips softly touched. The kiss was tender, reassuring. Nothing heated or in haste, just passionate.

Santana's head was spinning. Her worried thoughts disappeared in an instant. She realized she couldn't really do anything with her hands because they both had her and Quinn's gear in them. Somehow this was enough though; the kiss didn't need to be deepened. Brittany slowly pulled back and looked at the brunette, trying to gauge if maybe she had moved too fast or not. Santana let her closed eyes linger for a few seconds before she opened them, still somewhat surprised that Brittany had kissed her.

The blonde didn't want to upset Santana but she couldn't stop herself. She knew she was instantly mesmerized by the Latina when she caught her looking at her earlier that day dancing with Mike. There was something she saw in her that she couldn't quite put her finger on. She wanted to know who she was. What made her tick so to speak.

"Are you ok? Did I do something wrong?" Santana said with a nervous tone.

"What? NO! Oh god… no you didn't do anything wrong," Brittany said realizing she was thinking a little too long. "I was just hoping I didn't upset you by… um… kissing you." She trailed off.

Santana's worried look subsided and she loosened up again.

"No you didn't. I'm glad you did. I-I wasn't sure if I should or not. I mean I wanted to… but I w-wasn't sure if it was too fast or not." The brunette said rather quickly, somewhat embarrassed by the fact that she was stumbling over her words.

Brittany smiled and let out almost a relieved laugh. "I was thinking the exact same thing. I like you Santana, and I want to get to know you better. I don't know, there's just something about you that draws me in and captivates me."

Santana smiled. "I feel the same way about you."

Brittany returned her smile.

Santana looked around shyly. She didn't realize they were already back at the cabins and standing outside the brunette's door.

"So… we're ok then? Santana asked.

"We're perfect." Brittany said grinning from ear to ear.

The blonde's smile really was contagious. Santana caught herself beaming again.  
>"Do you want to come with me to see Quinn?" Santana questioned after a few moments of comfortable silence.<p>

"I want to, but I think I should give you guys your space and time to hang out for a bit. I need to take a shower and I'm getting kinda tired."

"I understand. So I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"I can't wait!" The blonde said with another growing smile.

"Me either. Sleep well."

"You too. Tell Quinn I hope she's ok."

"I will." Santana stated plainly with a small grin.

Brittany leaned in once more and gave the Latina a chaste kiss before stepping backwards and turning to walk the few extra steps to her own cabin. She twisted the handle and turned to the brunette.

"Goodnight San."

"Night Britt."

Brittany tried to hide the blush she got from hearing the Latina's nickname for her; she pushed the door open and walked inside.

Santana shook her head happily and walked inside her cabin. She noticed Mercedes was asleep in her bunk so she quietly set Quinn's stuff by their bunk beds before shifting to set her own stuff in her bag. She pulled off her grass stained shirt and moved to put on a clean one. She quietly walked out the door and began walking up the path towards the nurses station.

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

**Shorter chapter but I hope you guys don't mind. I wanted to get the ball rolling a bit. Hope you guys liked it. Reviews and comments are always amazing! Please keep them coming! Next chapter should be up within the next few day! =D**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey everyone! Ok so I've been getting a few questions about the story so here is a bit of clarification. **

**First- Artie CAN walk in this story. I understand that it's not the norm but I love his character in the show and I wanted to be able to have him do more then sit on the sidelines.**

**Second- Many people have asked, AS OF CHAPTER 4, if Santana knows what paintball team Brittany plays for yet. The answer is no, not yet. She will find out later in the story.**

**Third- How have the teams been split up?**  
><strong>*The Riots consist of: Santana, Puck, Quinn, Sam, Artie, Dave, Mercedes, and Luke<strong>  
><strong>*The Showstoppers consist of: Brittany, Rachel, Mike, Finn, Tina, Kurt, Blaine, and Drew<strong>  
><strong>*Luke &amp; Drew are fictional characters who are not in the show. I had to make the teams an even number for certain parts of the story. They play minor roles throughout the story so far. <strong>

**Forth- I'm trying to add as much to the story as I possibly can. Therefore, the timeline so far is Thursday (Chapter 1 and half of Chapter 2) and Friday (the rest of Chapter 2 thru Chapter 4). It seems like longer, I know, but in reality it's not. If you would like for me to start putting time stamps at the beginning of the segments I can. Just let me know. I want you guys to stay interested. =)**

**If you have any other questions or concerns, or if you just want to leave a comment, please let me know. I love the reviews! It keeps me motivated to continue with the story and brightens my day. Thank you all so much! Here is Chapter 5.**

**XXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Quinn and Rachel walked into the nurses station, the blonde still scrunching up her face in pain at the sharp movements.

The small red-headed women behind the counter was cleaning vigorously, shifting things around and wiping off the counters before placing the contents back very neatly. She looked over to the counter when she heard shuffling coming from the two girls walking into the cabin.

"Hello girls. I'm Nurse Pillsbury. How can I help you?"

"My friend Quinn finds herself to be in a rather unfortunate predicament after our recent game of paintball. A boy, whom I might add has a very fowl mouth, used frozen paintballs during the match and has caused her great bodily injury. We have come to see if there is anyway to distinguish if it requires a trip to the local hospital." Rachel said without taking a breath.

The nurse just stood there in disbelief, mouth wide open. Quinn tried to contain her laughter by sucking her lower lip between her teeth but failed to do so, resulting in her holding her stomach even more and letting out a small yelp.

"Oh Quinn are you ok?" Rachel said when she heard Quinn's shriek.

_She doesn't even realize she's speaking in paragraphs but the way she does is so damn cute!_ Quinn thought as she was able to stand up straight again.

"Yeah I'm good. Do you always do that?" She asked trying to contain the smile.

"Do what?" The brunette asked looking slightly bewildered. Both girls looked over the counter when the nurse cut in before Quinn had a chance to explain.

"Well you sort of sound like you were writing a professional research paper trying to explain the whole situation. A simple explanation would have sufficed."

Rachel had a look of horror plastered on her face as she stood staring at the nurse.

"I do not! I find that proper grammar and an extensive vocabulary have put me into a position ahead of everyone else around me as well as inform my peers that slang is a disgusting way to express yourself. While I must admit that I have trouble with the way people talk these days, I have undoubtedly restrained myself from correcting everyone's speech!" Rachel retorted looking hurt by the nurses accusation. She then looked to Quinn with a stern and serious facial expression, "Do you think that about me as well?"

Quinn had wiped the smile off her face at Rachel's outburst and was now staring uneasily into the her brown eyes while she awaited her answer.

"W-well I do think you have a tendency to talk in paragraphs, b-but I…." She stopped when Rachel released Quinn's arm, seeing her eye's start to well up with tears.

Rachel turned on her heal and stormed off towards the door.

"Rachel wait! I didn't mean…" Quinn trailed off as the brunette burst through the door and out of sight up the path.

"Shit." Quinn mumbled under her breath.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Santana walked up the path towards the nurses station, still in a happy daze from her kiss with Brittany. She hummed happily to herself as she rounded a cluster of trees and caught sight of the nurses cabin about 100 yards away. Her face dropped when she saw Rachel explode out the door, hugging her arms across her chest and her head dipped towards the ground.

"Rachel? What happened? Is everything alright? Is Quinn ok?" The taller brunette asked now in a very worried voice.

Rachel didn't say anything. She pushed past Santana and kept walking back towards their cabins. The Latina stood awestruck at the smaller brunette's actions and watched her quickly walk away. Even though it was dark outside, Santana didn't miss the tears running down the girl's face and she panicked.

The Latina took off in a dead sprint towards the nurses cabin and flinging herself through the door.

"QUINN!" She shouted out of breath and the worry even more evident across her usually easy going features.

"S? What's wrong? Did something happen?" The blonde asked, now in a panic of her own.

"Rachel… she ran out of here crying. I thought something had happened to you. Are you alright?" She walked hastily towards her friend who was now sitting on an exam table with her shirt off and holding the blood stained bandana on her toned stomach.

"That was my fault." Nurse Pillsbury said as she walked in from an adjoining room with a handful of supplies. "I think I might have offended her when she tried explaining Quinn's condition in a rather drawn out manner."

"No." Quinn cut in, looking at the ground, "It's my fault, I shouldn't have laughed. She just looked so damn adorable when she said it that I couldn't contain myself." She added bashfully.

"She asked me if I thought the same things that Nurse Pillsbury had said and she didn't give me a chance to explain before she ran out. She probably hates me now." Quinn continued, whispering the last part so only her friend could hear.

Santana smiled as she took a seat next to the blonde. "She doesn't hate you Q. Talk to her tomorrow and explain everything to her. Tell her how you feel."

Quinn finally looked up from the ground and stared at her friend. "You think she will listen to me?"

"She will if you're honest with her. She seems like an understanding person." Santana said. Quinn nodded and looked back down at the ground, debating if she should do what her friend suggested.

"I hope you don't mind the interruption, but I need to get a better look at your stomach to see what the damage is."

Quinn and Santana looked up to the nurse almost forgetting she was there. Quinn nodded and Santana pulled her chair out of the way.

The nurse pulled the roller stool over and pulled on her examination gloves. She replaced Quinn's hold on the bandana with her own and slowly pealed it back, exposing the now extremely purple and blue bruise. It had grown significantly in size since the last time Santana had looked at it and was swollen where the 8 welts were forming. The cuts were more noticeable now, looking more like gashes the size of pennies. Each opening had dried blood around it.

"I'm gonna kill that asshole!" Santana said as she looked at the injury, her anger starting up again.

"Santana… I think you were lucky you got away with hitting him the first time. We need you for the competition and I'm definitely not going to be staying at camp without my best friend so don't you dare!" Quinn stated firmly now glaring at the brunette.

Santana stared back at her friend, realizing it would probably be best to stay quiet. She only nodded and looked back at the bruising on her stomach. Quinn winced and held her breath when Nurse Pillsbury pushed on the swollen areas, examining the extent of the damage.

"You don't have any internal injuries, but the gashes need to be cleaned and stitched. I have the training and supplies to do it here so you don't need to go to the hospital and I will prescribe some antibiotics that your chaperone can pick up for you." Quinn nodded her understanding.

"So she's going to be ok then?" Santana asked just to be sure.

"She will be in some discomfort for the next few days until the swelling starts to go down, but _yes_, she will be fine." The nurse answered with a smile for reassurance. Santana sighed in relief.

Nurse Pillsbury cleaned the wound thoroughly and stitched up the 5 gashes where the paintballs had broken the skin. She bandaged up the exposed flesh and grabbed two large ice packs from the freezer and told Quinn to shift and lay down on her back. Santana stood up and helped her friend lay back on the exam bed; she helped her take off her combat boots and laid them on the floor The nurse placed the ice packs over the bandages and pulled the covers up.

"I'm going to have you stay here tonight so I can keep an eye on the swelling. These are also my living quarters so I'll be in the next room should you need anything."

"Thank you." Quinn said with a small smile. Nurse Pillsbury nodded and walked to her room closing the door behind her.

Santana moved to pull a more comfortable sitting chair over to Quinn's bed. She slumped down and pulled her feet up.

"Well I managed to screw up royally with the girl I like. How is everything going with Brittany?" Quinn asked once she saw Santana was in a relaxed position.

Santana blushed and dipped her head down into her hands trying to hide her flushed cheeks. Thoughts of the events that took place between her and the blonde earlier that night flooded back into her head and she couldn't help the growing smile. The blonde smirked at her best friend and chuckled.

"I'm guessing since your face is as red as a tomato right now, something good happened. Spill it Lopez!"

Santana brought her face out of her hands and turned to look at Quinn, the smile never leaving her face. "She kissed me," were the only words that the brunette could say.

Quinn's face lit up and her own smile grew wider. "You've known the girl for a total of 6 hours and you guys already kissed? Are you kidding me right now!"

"I wasn't planning on it and neither was she, it just sort of happened."

"How does it _just sort of happen_?" Quinn asked now pressing the girl for details.

Santana recanted everything that had happened from the time they left the paintball field up until they said goodnight. They talked excitedly for close to half and hour before looking at the clock and realizing it was well past 2 in the morning. By this time Quinn was trying desperately to keep her eyes open. The pain killers that the nurse had given her almost instantly took effect and the blonde's eyes drooped lazily. Santana switched off the overhead lamp and pulled the covers up around her friend who had just fallen asleep. She gave her a light kiss on the forehead and grabbed an extra blanket from the end of Quinn's bed and wrapped it around her shoulders letting it drape off the sides of the large lounge chair. She shifted the throw pillow that was behind her back and rested it on the arm of the chair before laying her head down. She relaxed with the knowledge that her best friend was ok and safely asleep. Santana let sleep take her with the thought of the kiss that her and Brittany had shared that evening.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Brittany woke up the next morning after she had rolled to her side, bumping into a hard object curled next to her. She opened her eyes and saw a sleeping Rachel tucked into her side clutching the extra pillow. She smiled and pushed a strand of hair out of the small girls face before slowly getting out of the twin bunk.

She remembered how upset Rachel was the previous night when she came into the cabin, tears running down her face.

_FLASHBACK_

Brittany had just gotten out of the shower and was brushing her hair. She was humming to herself, thinking of the interaction that played out 15 minutes ago with the beautiful Latina.

The door swung open and a hysterical Rachel walked in. Brittany's smile dropped when she saw the tears streaming down the brunette's face. She set her brush down on the bathroom counter and ran over to her best friend.

"Rach? Honey, what happened? Why are you crying?"

"I-I'm f-fine. I j-just wanna s-sleep." The brunette sniffled, trying to form coherent words.

Brittany pulled her friend into a hug. Rachel wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist and pushed her head into her shoulder, letting the tears fall freely.

"Shhh it's ok, I'm here. Calm down, deep breaths." Brittany said softly resting her chin on the shorter girls head, holding her close.

They stood like this for a few minutes until Rachel's breathing slowed and she calmed down. Brittany loosened her hold on her and looked down. The brunette had her eye's scrunched closed, still trying to stop the tears from coming. She took another long deep breath and loosened her features.

"Rach… tell me what happened." The blonde spoke softly, letting her friend know she wasn't forcing her to tell her. Simply letting her know that she could talk to her.

Rachel reached up with one hand, maneuvering through Brittany's wrapped arms to brush away the last fallen tears. She pulled in one more breath before she looked up to blue eyes.

"Do you think…" Rachel paused, dropping her head for a moment before looking back up. "Do you think that I… um… talk funny?"

"Sweetheart, you don't talk funny, why would you think I would think that?"

Rachel dipped her head back down resting it again on the blonde's shoulder. "Quinn said I talk in 'paragraphs.'"

Brittany let out a slight laugh. Rachel pulled back and looked up to her friend with a hurt look on her face. She tried to pull out of the blonde's arms but Brittany held onto her.

"You do think I talk funny! Let me go!" Rachel squirmed trying to free herself.

"Rach, you _do_ have a tendency to draw out a sentence more then it has to be, but…"

"Great, so now you're making fun of me as well!" Rachel cut her off before she could finish.

"Will you stop for a second and let me finish!" The blonde said now raising her voice. Rachel stopped when she heard the tone her friend was using. She sat still but never made eye contact, simply choosing to look over Brittany's shoulder. The blonde waited a moment to see if she would flare up again before she continued.

"You're conversations tend to be a little more _full_, than most people's… _but_," she made sure to emphasize the 'but,' "there's nothing wrong with how you talk. You simply choose to use more words to do it and there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not judging you for it and I don't have a problem with it."

"But why did she say that to me." Rachel sniffed, now calming herself.

"Did you ask her?" Brittany questioned.

"Yes, but…" Rachel stopped mid sentence.

"But what?" Brittany asked, a smile now appearing on her face; she knew the brunette had realized the power of a '_but_.'

Brittany may not know Quinn very well, but she did know her best friend better than anyone and she knew Rachel had a tendency to be a major diva. The brunette was known for her impromptu storm-outs before people had a chance to explain things or clarify their meanings behind what they said.

Needless to say, Rachel's face may have drained of color at the realization that Quinn, did in fact, say 'but' before the brunette stormed out of the nurses station.

"Damnit!" Rachel huffed under her breath as she hugged the blonde again.

"And what have we learned from tonight?" Brittany's smirk growing more devilish.

Rachel breathed out, relaxing in defeat. "Don't storm out before you get the whole story."

"Eggggg-xactly. I don't think Quinn had a problem with the way you talk Rach. If she did she wouldn't have spent most of the night with you and she definitely wouldn't be looking at you like their's nobody else in the world she would rather be around."

Rachel sighed, loosening her grip, and Brittany finally let her arms fall from her friend.

"Come on shorty, grab your pillow and go snuggle up in my bunk while I finish my hair."

Rachel smiled and nodded to her best friend.

_END FLASHBACK_

Brittany moved around the cabin to her bag. She grabbed her toothbrush and went to the sink. She splashed water on her face before wiping away the excess with a towel. The blonde quickly brushed her teeth and went to glance at her phone to check the time. It was 6:15 AM and she didn't technically have to be up for breakfast until 8:30. She changed out of her pajamas and pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt before lacing up her sneakers.

She walked out of the cabin into the cool morning air. Brittany knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep even if she wanted to so she decided to keep up with her workout schedule and go for a jog around camp. She had no idea how big the place was so this was the perfect opportunity to explore the area. She started out at a normal warm up speed for about half a mile before picking up her pace. She kept to the paths for the most part before she got comfortable with her surroundings.

The blonde spotted an offset in the high grass to the side of the dirt road she was running on and decided to go off the beaten path. She kept running. She let most of her thoughts consume her, thinking about anything and everything. She liked the time she had when she ran. It was her alone time.

Brittany must have run close to a mile on the tiny path before she came to an opening that stretched out, opening the canopy of trees revealing a pure blue sky and a small lake. She slowed her pace and walked over to the tiny beach that lead into the water.

"Wow." She whispered to herself.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

"Santana, Santana. It's time to wake up."

The Latina opened her eyes groggily to an overly happy red-head. Santana groaned.

"Just five more minutes, please." She said waving her hand up trying to shoo away the women, pushing her face as far into the throw pillow as possible.

"If you wait another five minutes we will be late for breakfast and I want me some bacon woman!" Quinn said as she was slowly getting up from the bed.

"Ok seriously what is it with you and bacon? I mean, you could have it for every meal and never get tired of it. It's not normal!" The brunette said as she turned her face to bring her friend into view.

The blonde just looked at her with an 'are you serious?' face.

"This coming from the person who is so obsessed with Breadstix that she was in a food comma for two days."

Santana rolled her eyes.

"Yeah that's what I thought. Now get your ass up cuz I'm hungry!"

Santana sat up and readjusted her ponytail. She stood up and walked over to Quinn to help her get off the bed. Nurse Pillsbury walked in from the other room and handed a small sealed bottle to the blonde.

"These are some low dose painkillers. I want you to take one every four hours as needed and I just called Mrs. Lopez to inform her of your prescription antibiotics. She will be down to get them for you and have them back here before lunch. I want you to take it easy for today and sit out of your sessions. You can start back up again tomorrow but I am requiring you wear a chest protector when you play until the gashes heal. I want you to ice your stomach as much as possible until the swelling subsides. If you feel like something isn't right, please come see me immediately."

Quinn really didn't want to wear the chest protector. It was light and you could wear it under your shirt, but she had never needed one before. Sure she took some hard hits in the past, but she was proud of the fact that she could take it just as much as the guys. The same with Santana and Mercedes. She agreed anyways because she knew she wouldn't be able to play otherwise.

"Thank you Nurse Pillsbury. For everything." Quinn said with a small smile.

"It's my pleasure dear."

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Thank you everyone for sticking with the story. It means so much to me. This one was a slower chapter to get a feel for the friendships between the two sets of girls. I love the reviews and story alerts! You guys are awesome! Look out for Chapter 6 within the next few days. =)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks so much for the story alerts and favorites. I also just wrote a one-shot and is now posted for your viewing pleasure.**

**Your reviews have been amazing thus far so please keep them coming! =) Chapter 6 for you!**

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Quinn was practically dragging Santana to the Dining Commons (DC) for breakfast.

"Aren't you supposed to be injured right now?" Santana said trying to keep up with the blonde who was pulling her intently by the arm to follow.

"I told you I was hungry! Plus the painkillers do wonders." The blonde scoffed still marching forward.

"You know, if I didn't know that you're gay I would swear your pregnant the way you crave food 24/7."

"Good one, did you come up with that yourself?"

"I did actually." The brunette smiled. Quinn just rolled her eyes.

A few moments later they arrived at the DC. People were talking happily with each other. Laughter filled most conversations while some people looked like they had just woken up and didn't have the energy yet.

Quinn walked ahead of her over towards the food line leaving the brunette standing in the doorway. Santana spotted most of her team sitting at the table with a Mike, Tina, Blaine and Kurt. Everyone was chatting amongst themselves shifting back and forth between conversations. She looked around the room, trying to spot a certain blonde. She scanned back and forth between each of the tables and over to the people who were lined up to get their food but didn't find her.

"Looking for someone special?" The brunette smiled when she heard Brittany's voice behind her.

"I was actually, you might know her." Santana said jokingly as the blonde walked in front of the Latina.

"Oh really? Who might that be?" Brittany said with a smirk and a questioning raised eyebrow.

"She's a little taller than me, loves to play paintball, is an amazing dancer… blonde hair, gorgeous blue eyes. She's really beautiful, you should see her."

"Oh? Well she sounds like a real heart throb, I don't know if I've seen her before though." The blonde said, now wearing a playful frown.

"That's a shame. I was really hoping to see her today."

"Well since you can't find her, could you settle on me instead? I mean, I'm slightly taller than you, I have some pretty kickass dance moves, I play paintball, and I have blonde hair and blue eyes. The beautiful part I'm not so sure about though. But I think I meet most of the requirements." The blonde said as she looked at the thinking Latina.

"I suppose that would work." Finally coming to her teasing decision.

They both laughed and moved to hug each other.

"You _are_ beautiful by the way." Santana said as she pulled away. Brittany just blushed. Santana smiled.

"I mean that." She added. The blonde looked down not knowing how to respond to the compliment.

The Latina just chuckled.

"Come on, let's get something to eat." Brittany nodded and they walked over to the line to get their food.

They talked happily while they waited their turn, getting to know each other more.

**XXXXXXXXX**

"What do you mean you can't play today?" Puck asked Quinn. To be honest he looked more disappointed than she was.

"The nurse said I can't play today but I'll be able to start again tomorrow." She said sticking a piece of bacon in her mouth. "She also said I had to wear a chest protector so if I do get hit in the stomach it won't rip my stitches." She finished with a look of annoyance.

"Man that sucks."

"Tell me about it."

"Hey guys!" Brittany said excitedly as she and Santana made their way to the table and sat down.

Quinn and Puck turned their heads and looked up with a smile.

"Well hello ladies." Puck said as he sat back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest, a devilish smirk prying at his lips and his eyebrows raised high. The action didn't go unnoticed by Santana as she pulled her chair in closer to the table and furrowed her eyebrows.

"How are you feeling Quinn?" Brittany asked as she stuffed a fork full of hash browns in her mouth.

"Better. The nurse said I need to take it easy though." Quinn answered.

"Yeah Santana told me about everything. It sucks you have to sit out today."

"Yeah, I guess it could have been worse. At least I won't miss too much."

"True." Brittany said and she turned towards the Latina's other best friend. "How are you today Puck?"

"I'm just dandy, thanks for asking. How about yourself?" He asked.

_Dandy? What the fuck was that? Since when does he say 'dandy'?_ Santana thought, now looking at him half confused, half annoyed.

"I'm great!" Brittany said with a smile.

They all went back to finishing their breakfast in a comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Um… hey Brittany?" The shorter blonde spoke up.

"Yeah?" Brittany looked up from her food and waited for Quinn to continue.

"Have you seen Rachel at all today?" Quinn asked before looking back down at her empty plate. "I kinda have to talk to her."

The taller blonde smiled sweetly. Santana had told her that Quinn blamed herself for Rachel storming out the night before. Brittany also mentioned to the Latina about her best friends tendency to take things the wrong way sometimes and that she felt bad about running out on Quinn like that.

"Yeah, she's back at the cabin. She doesn't like to eat a big breakfast this early in the morning. I can walk back there with you. I need to grab my stuff really quick. My first session starts in 15 minutes."

Quinn nodded. "Thanks." Brittany gave her a reassuring smile.

"Our teams are split up today so I have no idea who I'm with." Santana said now joining in the conversation.

"I think I'm in the group you're in. Mine starts in 15 minutes as well. Awareness Tactics right?" Puck chimed in.

"Yes! Looks like I found a battle buddy for the day." Brittany said excitedly and Puck chuckled. Santana slightly scowled in disappointment. She wanted to the one to hang out with the beautiful blonde all day. "I'll just run back to the cabin and get my gear and I'll meet you up there."

Puck smiled, "Sounds good."

Brittany turned to Santana. "I'm sad I don't to hang out with you today."

"Me too." Santana said as she shifted in her seat to face Brittany.

"Meet me for lunch?" Brittany asked hopefully.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." Santana said, the ends of her lips curling into a smile.

"It's a date then." Brittany matched her smile. "I'll see you this afternoon."

"That you will."

Santana and Brittany stood up together and wrapped their arms around each other, letting the hug linger a little longer than most hugs. They loosed their grip and pulled back slowly looking at each other with matching grins. Brittany then glanced over to Quinn who was already standing.

"Ready to go?" Brittany asked. Quinn nodded.

Brittany turned back to Santana and smiled again. Santana grabbed her hand and brought it up to her lips and gave it a quick peck while looking into her eyes.

"Until we meet again m'lady." Santana said with a grin.

Brittany's cheeks burned._ Does she really have to be this cute?_ Brittany thought.

"Go get your stuff or you will be late." The Latina ushered her towards the door with a laugh to yourself.

Quinn and Brittany walked off and Santana watched all the while, eyeing up the blonde's dancer legs, tilting her head slightly as she did so. Puck chuckled bringing Santana out of her daze.

"What's so funny?" She asked with an irritated glare.

"Oh nothing." Puck replied as he stood up and pushed in his chair.

"Like hell, spill it Puckerman."

"You got it bad for that girl." He said walking around the table and nudging her with his shoulder before making his way to walk out of the DC.

"What? No I don't!" She shouted at him and running to catch up.

"Oh please, Pinocchio lies better than you and his nose gives it away. You…" He pauses and eyes her from head to toe, "You might as well wear a neon sign that says 'I GOT A CRUSH ON BRITTANY!'" He finished with a smirk as he started up the path towards his cabin.

Santana slapped in on the back of the head. Puck hunched over ducking his head down at the contact.

"Oww! What was that for?" He yelped, bringing his hand up to cup his head.

"For good measure." She raised her eyebrows and gave him a satisfying 'keep-your-mouth-shut' look.

"Well you make it so damn obvious; I don't know why you're getting all butt-hurt over it." Puck said standing up straight again.

Santana moved to swat him again but he anticipated her reaction to the comment and he took off running towards his cabin, laughing proudly.

"I brought my razor Puck! Keep an eye on your Mohawk or you might wake up one morning and it will be gone!" She screamed after him.

"Empty threats Lopez!" He shouted back, waving his hand before he was out of sight around a set of trees.

"Ass!" Santana mumbled under her breath.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"Hey Rach!" Brittany yelled out as she walked into her cabin with Quinn.

"Brushing my teeth! The brunette hollered back, not looking over to the two girls who just came through the door.

Brittany grabbed her gear quickly before she yelled to Rachel again.

"RACHEL GET OUT HERE!"

"Oh my god Brittany why are you screaming? I'm-…" She trailed off when she caught sight of Quinn.

"Rachel, Quinn. Quinn, Rachel. Gotta go, you two have fun! BYE!" She gestured in a mocking tone to introduce the girls to each other before bolting out the door.

The smaller blonde and the brunette stared at the door mouths agape before they slowly turned to look at one another. They didn't say anything for the longest time.

"I'm sorry!" They both said in unison.

They stayed quiet again. Not sure who was going to say something next. Quinn finally got up the nerve to speak first.

"Rachel… about last night… I-uh… I just wanted to tell you I was sorry." She paused, trying to find the words to tell the brunette how she felt and what she was trying to tell her before she left. She took a deep breath before she continued.

"What I said last night… a-about you talking in paragraphs… I-I didn't mean it to be offending and you didn't give the chance to explain before…"

"You don't need to explain Quinn. I'm the one who should be apologizing to you. I… I didn't give you the chance to explain and I'm sorry. I have a really bad habit of walking out or interrupting when people say something that I think is insulting without letting them elaborate further on the situation."

"Kinda like you are doing right now?" Quinn asked with a raised eyebrow and a funny smile on her face."

"I-I-…" She paused and looked down at the ground. "Yes" she admitted in defeat.

Quinn giggled and walked over to Rachel who still had her head dipped and her yes on the floor. The blonde reached over and lifted the diva's chin so she could look at her.

"I don't have a problem with you talking in paragraphs Rachel." Quinn said softly with a sweet, sweet smile.

"You don't? Rachel asked, almost unconvinced.

Quinn shook her head. "No, I don't." She clarified. "In fact… I think you sound really cute when you do." She added.

Rachel felt the blush creep up her neck and onto her cheeks as she looked down again.

"I'm sorry I stormed out yesterday. I hope you will let me make it up to you?" She asked with a optimistic grin.

"I will… if you let me give you something first." Quinn stated with a straight face.

"But Quinn, I don't want you to give me-…" She was cut off when the blonde leaned in and captured her lips. Rachel raised her hands up in surprise but relaxed when she took in what was going on. She reached up and laced her fingers through blonde hair and kissed her back. Quinn snaked her hands around the diva's waist and held her tight.

Quinn placed one last kiss on Rachel's lips before she draw back. Rachel still had her lips slightly puckered when she opened her eyes to look at the blonde.

"You should have just said yes instead of questioning me." Quinn joked.

Rachel just giggled and nodded. "I'll be sure to remember that for next time."

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

Brittany walked up to the field for her session. She saw Puck along with a large group of people she hadn't met before.

"Hey Brittany!" Puck greeted the blonde with a smile and a one armed hug.

"Hey how's it going?"

"Pretty great if I do say so myself."

"Glad to hear it." She said.

They chatted for a few minutes while they waited for their session instructor, getting familiar with each other. They enjoyed their conversation. Mostly small talk but they started getting into the normal chat about their love of paintball.

"So you're the captain of the Showstoppers huh? Mike was telling me you guys are on the school dance team together and that you talked his parents into letting him play with you." He said while inspecting his gun, making sure that it wouldn't jam at some point during their lessons.

"Yup, started the team up a few years ago. Mike and Rachel were the first ones to join and we just asked our group if they wanted to play as well."

Puck smiled. "That's pretty awesome. Mike's a cool guy."

"He really is. We have been dancing together since we were 10." She said proudly.

"No way? That's crazy! Explains why you work so well on the dance floor together though. That battle was epic last night!"

Brittany laughed. "Thanks."

"I also saw you and Santana getting your grove on." Puck stated, now finishing his gun inspection.

Brittany smiled at the mention of the Latina's name. She thought about how she had introduced herself and how slightly nervous she was to talk to her. She remembered how good it felt to dance so close to her and finally bringing back the memory of the kiss they shared the night prior. How imperfectly perfect it was. She replayed the memory in her head a few times, smiling at every detail.

"Earth to Brittany!" Puck said, now waving his hand in front of the blonde's face.

"Huh? Oh, yeah… uh huh."

Puck snickered. "You were thinking about her huh?

Brittany felt her cheeks flush slightly now that Puck had caught her.

"I think you guys look good together. I know she likes you a lot." Brittany looked up at him and let her perfectly straight, white teeth shine.

"She does?" The blonde asked, letting the grin grow bigger.

"Like you haven't noticed?" He questioned sarcastically with a smirk. "You guys have been staring at each other non stop since before you actually met."

By this time it was evident that Brittany's cheeks were starting to hurt from all the blushing but to be honest, she really didn't care. Having one of Santana's best friends tell her that the girl she was crushing on likes her ' a lot,' definitely improved her already, happy mood.

Their instructor for the first session arrived and explained what they would be working on that morning, though the title 'Awareness Tactics' was pretty self explanatory. After a long and rather boring explanation they broke up into smaller groups and practiced their skills for a while. They panned the field in all directions to get a feel for where people would most likely settle during a match and how easy it was to get caught in a sticky situation if you weren't paying attention. Thankfully the lesson was more exciting then the explanation and surprisingly they learned a few helpful tips and skills to use on the field with their team. After a few hours of their drills and exercises it was time to head back for lunch. Puck and Brittany lifted up their masks to rest atop their heads as Puck grabbed them both a water bottle from the ice cooler before they headed back down off the fields. Brittany got giddy thinking about the fact that she would be seeing Santana in a few minutes.

"Someone's happy." Puck observed as he took a huge gulp of water.

Brittany bounced excitedly. "Santana and I are gonna have lunch together."

Puck chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Of course you are."

The blonde just stuck her tongue out at him.

"I know that this is gonna sound weird but I feel it's my job as her best friend to do it so just know that if you hurt her, I will hurt you. I mean burry you alive type shit. I watch every CSI and Law & Order show so I can make it look like an accident. Consider yourself warned!" He said rather seriously but you could tell he was hiding a smile.

The blonde stopped and turned towards him. Brittany raised her hands as if to surrender before dropping her left hand and sticking out her right. "You have my word that I will not hurt her."

Puck smiled and shock her hand agreeing to his terms before continuing back towards the cabins to drop off their gear.

"Hey um… me and the boys went exploring last night before bed and we found a pretty awesome spot. We were thinking of getting the group together and having a little camp out of our own. Do you want to get your girls together and join? Your guys are bunked with us so everyone is down. We just need to tell the girls."

"Yeah I'll let them know and I'll tell Santana also. Just give me the details and I'll make sure everyone gets their. What time do you think?" Brittany asked enthusiastically.

"We have to wait until the adults finish their rounds for the night before we can sneak out, so probably close to midnight because lights out is at 11:30. I brought all the party favorites with me." He said with a proud grin.

Brittany laughed loudly. "If anyone could sneak it past the adults, it would be you. I'm game!"

**XXXXXXXXX**  
><strong>Their relationship is building. I didn't want to jump too far ahead of myself even though I could pretty much write them in a make-out session all day. But what would be the fun in that? =) Anyways, thank you all again for subscribing to the story and adding it as a favorite. Keep the reviews coming! I love them! =D<strong>


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys. Sorry it took a while to update. I'm starting my midterms this week and I just started at my new job. Thanks so much for sticking with me! Chapter 7 =)**

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Santana reached her cabin after her morning session. She didn't know anyone in her group that day but she enjoyed getting to learn some new tactics. A few drops of sweat dripped down her temple and onto the ground as she made her way through the door.

"WHOA!" She yelps out and stops dead in her tracks to see Rachel straddling Quinn on her bunk with lips locked. _Thank god they are still fully clothed._ Santana thought to herself.

Rachel jumped off the blonde and they both stare wide eyed at the now smirking Latina.

"I..um… w-we were just…" Rachel begins.

"You were just talking with your tongues super close?" Santana laughed out.

Both of them turned bright red.

"You guys are gonna get so much shit from me for this, I hope you know that?" Santana said still trying to calm down her fits of laughter.

Both girls just sat there not really knowing what to say.

"Well don't stop on my account." She said as she pulled her sweaty t-shirt up over her head. "Q I'm gonna go meet Brittany for lunch. We have down time after and then team practice at 2. Can you remind everyone that you see please?"

"Sure um… that's it?"

"Uh… yeah? Why was there something else I was supposed to say?" The Latina scrunched up her face trying to remember if she had forgotten anything.

"Oh no, I was just making sure." Quinn said eagerly. Santana could tell that it was beginning to get painfully awkward for the two girls so she slipped on her fresh t-shirt and headed for the door. She opened it and walked out, almost closing the door before she stuck her head back in.

"Oh and Q?"

"Yeah?"

"Could you please refrain from your lady loving on my bed please?" With the devilish smile prying across her face she shut the door and walked off towards the Dinning Commons, knowing in full detail what Quinn's face would look like with that comment.

She walked in the DC with a smile across her face as she glanced over to the table that they had sat at that morning. Sure enough the blonde was sitting there with her back facing the door. Santana took this opportunity to study Brittany. Even though she couldn't see her face very well, she still found it fascinating to watch her. She watched as the blonde flexed and relaxed her shoulder muscles as she moved into a comfortable position leaning on the table. Smiling to herself she made her way over behind Brittany and snaked her arms around the blondes waist before moving her head to her shoulder. She felt the dancer tense for a moment.

"Hello beautiful." The brunette whispered into her ear. Brittany immediately relaxed back into her seat so that the her shoulders pressed back into Santana's front.

Santana smiled into the blondes neck and hugged her tight for a moment before releasing her and taking a seat next to her.

"Hey you. How was your morning?" Brittany asked with a huge smile.

Santana just looked back. She was beaming from ear to ear, now taking in the girls features. _God she looks amazing._ Though the blonde was dressed simply in her BDU pants, a black tank top, and her hair pulled up into a messy ponytail, it still didn't stop the Latina from thinking she was the most beautiful girl she had ever seen in her life.

"It wasn't bad actually. I didn't know anybody in the group but the lesson was good. How about yours?"

"Mine was really cool. The instructor kind of made me want to fall asleep during the explanation but after we got started it was really interesting." Santana chuckled and Brittany found herself thinking that the brunette had a _really_ cute laugh. She smiled to herself.

"So you ready for some food? I'm starving!" Brittany exclaimed after a moment. Santana nodded and the two walked over to get their food.

After half an hour of light chatting during their meal, the clock rounded 12:30 and they found themselves walking out of the DC into the afternoon air.

"What do you have going on for the rest of today?" Santana asked.

"I have a team practice at 2:30 up until dinner and I was thinking about going to try and get in on a pick-up match. You?

"Team practice at 2 until dinner and then we meet up back at the field for a team session at 6 until 9. We have an open morning tomorrow though so we don't have another session until after lunch tomorrow."

"Same!" Brittany said excitedly. "Would you want to hang out later tonight then?"

"Of course!" Santana exclaimed animatedly.

The two beamed at each other happily. Knowing that they would get the chance to hang out tonight instantly made their day that much better.

"Hey, since we both have some time, would you want to go for a walk with me?" Brittany asked, pulling her bottom lip in between the teeth with a hopeful look on her face. She had pulled her arms around her back and clasped her hands together, shifting her weight back and forth nervously while awaiting Santana's answer.

Santana noticed the shift in the girls confidence and thought that it was adorable. Normally Brittany seemed so secure when she asked the brunette a question, but this time, she seemed timid and shy.

"Sure Britt… that sounds nice." Santana smiled and held out her hand. Brittany glanced at the offered hand with a huge grin. "I'd like that." The brunette added softly.

Brittany moved to place her palm in Santana's and the Latina entwined their fingers. The feeling that the brunette got at the blondes touch sent electric jolts through her arm. The tingling lingered there.

The blonde lead the way along the paths around the camp before turning off onto a high grass surrounded area. The two talked aimlessly about everything. The conversation was so easy going and everything they talked about felt so natural. Nothing was forced or awkward.

Santana had no idea where they were going but quite honestly it didn't matter. She trusted Brittany and for her, trust wasn't something that happened easily. She felt incredibly comfortable with the blonde. After about 30 minutes of walking Brittany stopped.

"We're here." The dancer said. Santana looked away from Brittany, having been totally engrossed in the conversation they were having and realized where they were.

"Wow." Was all the brunette could say. Brittany turned her head to see the Latina with her eyes wide and a look of wonder on her face and she gave a sideways smile.

"That's exactly what my reaction was when I saw it this morning." Brittany said and Santana turned to look at her.

"You've been here already?" Brittany nodded.

"This is like two miles away from camp though. What were you doing way out here?" Santana asked now looked slightly worried that she was out here all by herself.

"I like to run and decided to go exploring a little. I was here for about 2 hours before I came back for breakfast. I really like it here." Brittany stated.

Santana turned back to look at the view. The sun was shining brightly down on the lake. The water was relatively clear and there was a dock floating out about 100 yards from the shore line.

"What do you think?" Brittany asked as she watched Santana study their surroundings before turning to look out at the water. The Latina turned her head to look at the blonde.

"Beautiful." The Santana whispered in her raspy voice. The scene really was amazing, but she was pertaining to more to Brittany as she spoke those words. The blonde turned her head once more to look at the brunette and locked eyes. Both stood there, content just to have a silent conversation for a moment. Brittany was the first to look away with a sheepish grin on her face which made Santana smile at her reaction.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" Brittany asked as her cheeks began to flush.

"Like what?" The brunette now growing more confident, a half-smiled smirk stretching across her lips.

Brittany let go of the Latina's hand and took a few steps towards a giant rock that was nestled on the beach before she lifted herself up and sat down. The blonde fiddled with her hands for a moment while Santana watched her and waited for an answer.

"I don't know, you just make me nervous." Brittany said, not looking the brunette in the eyes.

Santana didn't really know what she meant by the statement but Brittany didn't seem nervous in a bad way, or at least she hoped. Santana guided her way over to the rock and hopped up. She shuffled up behind the blonde before settling herself so that Brittany was sitting between her legs. She put one arm around the blondes waist and pulled her back gently so that the dancer was resting her back against Santana's front. The brunette rested her chin on Brittany's shoulder and in turn the blonde leaned her head over to rest it against Santana's. The Latina relaxed a bit more seeing that Brittany didn't attempt to pull away, but rather returned the closeness.

Santana turn her head slightly, never breaking contact so that her forehead now leaned into the side of Brittany's head.

"Why do I make you nervous?" Santana spoke softly into her ear.

Brittany closed her eyes as the Latina's hot breath tickled the side of her neck.

Keeping her eyes forward and tensing slightly, the blonde spoke up. "I don't know what you do to me. The way we talk, the way we laugh together, and it doesn't even feel like we are trying. It just comes natural. I've never felt like that around anyone. I'm kinda going out of my mind trying to wrap my head around the fact that it feels like I've known you my whole life when in reality we barely met. And you probably think I'm weird now because I can tell I'm rambling and sharing feelings and-"

Santana reached around with her free hand and cupped Brittany's chin before pulling it up slightly and connecting their lips, cutting the girl off completely mid-sentence. Brittany relaxed again instantly and kissed the brunette back.

Santana really wanted to let Brittany continue even though she lost all resolve after the third sentence. She wanted to keep the blonde at a further distance. After all, they had only known each other a few days, but in a general sense, Santana wasn't the type of girl to move too quickly. Sure, she put up a front for her friends about getting all the girls and for all intensive purposes, it worked to her advantage. She kept her bad girl reputation intact. Santana dated girls before but never let them in far enough to get overly attached. The rambling was adorable in every way possible but having Brittany be so open and forward about her feelings was more than enough for all of Santana's walls to come crashing down, especially since she knew she felt the same way about the blonde.

The kiss was slow at first. Both took their time letting the feeling soak up to their cores before it got a little more heated. The dancer turned slightly, letting her hand rest on the outside of the Latina's thigh. Santana's hand glided from Brittany's chin, along her jaw line, before she laced her palm around the blondes neck, letting her thumb linger on the pale girls cheek just in front of her ear. Due to the rather irregular positioning the two had no choice but to shift.

Brittany gripped Santana's thigh and pulled away from the kiss fast before swinging her right leg over the brunette's left. The blonde reconnected their lips instantly and maneuvered her other leg up over the Latina's other thigh so that she was now straddling Santana.

Brittany rolled her hips forward to position her body closer to Santana's. The brunette brought both hands up to rest on the dancer's sides before tracing them around to the small of her back and held on tight. The blonde tilted her head slightly to deepen the kiss, allowing Santana to take Brittany's bottom lip between her own. She glazed her tongue across slowly requesting access. Brittany granted it eagerly and parted her lips. Santana slipped her tongue inside, taking her time to explore every inch of the blondes mouth. When Brittany's own tongue met Santana's for the first time it was like fireworks shooting out from every part of their bodies. Both girls elicited a soft moan at the contact.

The two continued their passionate kisses. Brittany moved her hands from Santana's shoulders and cradled the brunettes head with one, while the other embraced the Latina firmly across her shoulder blades.

Santana's heart rate was speeding up fast and she quickly discovered that their heavy make-out session was turning her on… _a lot._ The Latina slowly reached under the back of Brittany's tank top and traced small circles on her lower back. She felt Brittany's muscles flex and relax at the contact.

The blonde let the chills from Santana's touch run up her back and could feel the goose bumps form in return. When she felt the Latina run her fingers softly from her back and around to her front, she gasped and broke the kiss, letting her head fall back slightly and kept her eyes closed. Brittany was certainly getting turned on as well.

Santana took advantage of the break by trailing open mouthed kisses along the blonde's jaw line and down her neck. She traced lazy designs on the exposed skin with her tongue. Brittany moaned at the feeling and gripped her hold of the brunette's shoulders even tighter.

Santana couldn't form a coherent though; she was on auto-pilot. Things felt so right being there with Brittany that she didn't even second guess her actions. She reached up from her hold on the blonde's stomach to the hem of Brittany's tank-top and slowly pulled it up. The dancer raised her arms up over her head and let Santana pull the material off before reconnecting their lips.

_God, she's so amazing. She makes me feel things I've never felt before. It feels like sparks ignite in the pit of my stomach when she kisses me like this and while she's holding me; it feels like nothing can touch us. Holding her like this is amazing. Her bare skin is so soft and I don't ever want to let her go._

Santana's eyes shot open when she realized that the 'bare' skin part, understanding now that Brittany's shirt was off and this was leading to a place that she wasn't ready to take it. She wanted Brittany. She really did. But things between them felt like so much more than just sex and she didn't want to rush into that step. Santana gripped Brittany's sides and softly squeezed before breaking the kiss.

"Britt… Britt, wait we have to stop." Santana gasped out trying to regain her composure enough to both, breathe and find the strength to say what she needed to.

Brittany was breathing heavily also as she leaned back slightly to look at the brunette. She was slightly confused as to why they had stopped.

"San, are you ok? Did I do something wrong?" Brittany asked, now with a hint of worry stretching across her face.

Santana noticed the concern in the blonde's voice without even looking, and her heart broke slightly. She didn't want Brittany to get the wrong idea about the sudden halt to their previous activities but she also wasn't sure if she was entirely ready to share her feelings about Brittany with her. To be quite honest, she wasn't quite sure the extent of said feelings for the dancer but she did know she cared about her more then anything and she didn't want to rush into anything.

Santana decided it would be best to tell Brittany the truth because she didn't want to loose her and she felt comfortable enough around her to at least give her the explanation she deserved.

"No, no Britt you didn't do anything wrong please don't think that. I just…" Santana started to get frustrated with herself but took a deep breath so she could finish her justification. She spoke more calmly this time as she continued. "I just really care about you. I want you, I really do, but you're way too important to me for things to go straight to where I think they were about to go."

Brittany relaxed again and nodded. "I understand and you're right. Things were getting a little more heated than I originally intended and I'm glad that you agree. Don't get me wrong I want you too, but I don't think we should do this just yet. I really care about you too San."

Santana smiled at Brittany who returned it. They both thought that it would be awkward after the abrupt stop, but it wasn't. Santana leaned forward to press a chaste kiss to the blonde's lips before breaking it and pulling her in for a tight hug. Brittany hugged her back and nuzzled her face into tan skin before placing a soft kiss to her neck.

They hugged for several moments before Brittany leaned back. Santana grabbed Brittany's tank-top that she had tossed to her side during their make-out session and handed it to the blonde. Brittany leaned forward and gave the Latina a peck on the lips before pulling the material back over her head.

Santana pulled her cell phone out of the cargo pocket in her BDU pants to check the time. It was just rounding 1:30 and she needed to be back in 30 minutes for practice.

"As much as I just want to stay here and hold you like this, I have to get back for practice." Santana stated with a sad look in her eyes.

Brittany nodded and stood up before offering her hand to help the Latina to her feet. They entwined their fingers and jumped off the rock. They made their way back towards the camp in a comfortable conversation, holding hands and laughing the whole way.

**XXXXXXXXX**

**Hope you liked this chapter. Please bare with me for this week while I finish my first set of midterms and I promise to have the next chapter up this weekend. Reviews are greatly appreciated! =D**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

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Practice had been going smoothly for the most part. Santana was running everyone pretty hard, not because she was angry or in a bad mood, she just didn't want everyone getting used to taking things slow when they were with their other groups and slacking when it came time to get down to business. The team thrived off of the adrenaline and was pretty much in everyone else's heads during each of their matches, which is why they were the number one team in the eastern district. Because paintball matches never turned out the same way twice, you never really knew what to expect. The Riots however, knew what their jobs were and how to anticipate their teammates movements out on the field. This was also one of their downfalls. When they split up to play against each other in practice, their matches generally took a little longer than most because they would get stuck in opposing, but advanced positions, trying to eliminate each other because they already knew what the other was thinking.

Santana and Dave we up against Quinn and Puck, both teams holding strong in the center of the field while the rest watched the stand-off play out. No commands were really needed because they would all knew what the other team was planning to do.

Santana gave Dave a nod to try and advance while she covered him but as soon as he tried to make a run to an open bunker, both Quinn and Puck sprayed jets of paintballs at him.

"DAMNIT!" Santana sputtered out as she peaked up from her position to see her teammate walk over to the side.

"WHAT YOU GOT LOPEZ? CAN'T TAKE US BOTH OUT NOW CAN YOU?" The Latina heard Quinn shout followed by her and Puck laughing.

"Yeah, we will see about that." Santana mumbled to herself as she crawled along the Snake to move into position.

Neither Puck or Quinn saw her switch to another bunker when they opened fire on Dave. She shuffled quietly, getting ready to make her move. She peeked around the corner of the bunker and saw a blonde ponytail and a Mohawk, both peering around their respective bunkers looking at the bunker they thought they had cornered her at.

"OH COME ON SANTANA! AT LEAST TRY TO SHOOT US!" Puck yelled towards the empty bunker and popped off a few shots in that direction.

Santana smirked and stood up, walking quietly up behind them with the flag hanging out of her cargo pocket and her gun pointed at Puck's back. He was squatted behind a Mini-Brick while Quinn was about 10 feet away peering around the corner of the Aztec bunkers, firing off a few shots to try and coax Santana out of her position.

Santana now aimed her gun at Quinn while snaking her arm through and pulling Puck into a Choke Hold.

"Bang!" The Latina said into his ear which caused him to jump up and take Santana with him. She held on tight though and jumped up onto his back for a winners piggy-back ride.

"Shit Lopez! Give me a fucking heart attack why don't you!"

Quinn heard Puck and turned around only to be met with the barrel of Santana's gun pointed at her chest.

"Nuh uh!" Drop it Fabray!" Quinn scowled and dropped her gun in defeat.

The rest of their team just laughed as they made their way over to the group of best friends.

"How the hell did you get behind us? You were over at that bunker!" Puck said as he pointed to the bunker he and Quinn thought she was hiding behind.

"Correction… I _was_ over at that bunker. Isn't there a saying that if you watch one hand you don't see what the magician pulls out with his other? Or some shit like that?"

"So you just decided to pull a Houdini?" Quinn asked still slightly pissed that she had her ass handed to her and she didn't even see it coming.

"You're just mad cuz I kicked your ass at a 1 Vs. 2... While you never saw me do it, I might add." Santana retorted with a shit-eating smirk.

Quinn flipped her off while still sporting the annoyed scowl on her face.

"Oh come on Quinn you had to admit that was pretty tight!" Artie said and raised his hand up towards Santana for a High Five.

"Whatever." The blonde huffed.

"You know I could have told your ass to sit out being as that's what you were supposed to be doing anyway, but all your bitching was just annoying the fuck out of me so I agreed." The Latina snapped as she jumped off of Puck's back.

Puck eyed the two girls and motioned for the rest of the team to move away, sensing some sort of argument was about to play out. He knew his best friends well enough to know that things would never get two far out of hand. They would yell rather loudly but would never physically hurt one another. _Girls, can't live with um, can't live without them. So why are both of my best friends a bunch of raging hormonal bitches sometimes?_Puck shrugged at the thought and walked off the field to head back towards the cabins with his teammates to get ready for dinner.

"Seriously Q, what the fuck is your deal?" You have been up everyone's ass since we started practice. I let you play even though the nurse told you no, now your pissed off over a practice run for Christ sake. I know your competitive and shit but take a fucking pill and calm down!" Santana screamed getting up in Quinn's face.

"Nothing's wrong Santana! Fuck! Why can't you just back off? I wanted to play to get my mind off of things alright?"

The Latina just looked confused.

"Get your mind off of what? You were fine a few hours ago when I left the cabin for lunch. What's got your panties in a bunch this time?" The Latina asked, lowering her voice a little and scrunching her face up, somewhat puzzled.

Quinn didn't answer. She pulled off her mask and started to walk off the field when Santana caught her by the arm, halting the blonde's movements and swinging her to face her.

"What do you want from me?" Quinn shouted, finally getting angry because Santana still hadn't released her arm.

"I wanna know why you're being such a bitch right now! Did I do something to you or what, because to be honest I have no idea what is wrong with you!"

"I'm scared alright! Are you happy now?" Quinn shouted, yanking her arm away and storming off down the path.

Santana stood there, not knowing what to say. Not only that, but she didn't know what the blonde was referring to. She wracked her brain for a few minutes, trying to pin-point what her friend could possibly be afraid of.

The Latina walked back to the cabin slowly and opened the door to find Quinn sitting on her bunk and playing with the hem of her pillow case.

Santana walked over and put her gear on her bunk before taking a seat next to her best friend. She pushed herself back to lean against the wall as she waited a few moments, trying to give her friend a chance to speak. When she didn't, the Latina spoke up.

"Q…" She stated as more of a question.

The blonde moved her head that was previously staring down at the ground and turned away from Santana to look at the wall.

"Can you please just tell me what's wrong? What are you scared of? And why?" The brunette added.

"Rachel…." Was all she said in nothing higher than a whisper and the name laced with sadness.

Santana stayed quiet to let her finish, even though she already knew the reason why she was scared.

"I like her, a lot S. But I don't want to get hurt again, and I don't want to hurt her."

At the beginning of their sophomore year, Quinn had a nasty break up with her girlfriend of two years. Nobody, not even Santana, saw it coming.

_FLASHBACK_

The two best friends walked down the hallway of McKinley after just ending Glee practice. The door to the gym swung open and a tall and slender looking basketball player jogged up to them.

"Hey baby!" Quinn said with a smile as she stood up on her tip-toes to kiss her girlfriend Kelly.

"Hey, I won't be able to hang out tonight. My dad wanted to take me and my brother out to dinner since he's flying in from L.A. I think he feels bad for choosing his job over his family. I tried to get out of it, but my mom wouldn't have it."

"That's ok, me and S are probably just gonna go back to my place and do some homework."

"Alright, I'll text you when I can but I have to get back to practice. I just wanted to let you know." Kelly said with a half smile.

"I understand, call me later tonight when you get home if you can?" Quinn asked.

"I will, bye babe!" The basketball player said, giving the blonde a quick peck before running back into the gym.

Later that night after Quinn and Santana had finished their homework, the two lounged in the family room of the Fabray house.

"There isn't shit on TV right now Q and I'm starting to get hungry. You up for some Breadstix?" The brunette asked hopefully.

Quinn rolled her eyes and switched off the TV. Santana jumped off the couch so fast she almost tripped but was able to catch herself before she toppled over.

Quinn couldn't contain the laughter anymore.

"Shut it Fabray!" The brunette sneered.

"You get way too excited about those breadstix there S. I'm surprised you managed to keep your figure all these years." Quinn said through her giggles.

Santana just flipped her the bird and grabbed her jacket before chucking Quinn hers. They headed out of the house and over to Santana's favorite restaurant.

When they arrived, both girls took a seat in the only available booth towards the back, Quinn with her back towards the wall with a good view of the entire establishment. The waiter came over and took their orders before leaving the two to engage in their conversation. Santana was on a rant about Shelby's glee practices and how they had to have a last minute practice 8AM starting the following morning. The women really was somewhat out of her mind. She wanted perfection in every aspect.

Santana was chomping down on a breadstick when she noticed Quinn staring past her, her face drained of color, mouth slightly agape, and her eyes welling up with tears.

"Q? What's-" She started to ask as she turned around to peek around the booth. She didn't need to finish the rest of the question.

Standing at the door waiting for a table was Kelly. But she wasn't with her dad and brother. She had her arms wrapped around a shorter girl that Santana recognized from the softball team while planting light kisses to the girls lips.

Santana turned around to face Quinn, who was standing up to start charging towards the door. The brunette stood up immediately to block her friend from rushing out. The blonde had hurt and a shit load of anger plastered across her face and it didn't take long for her to vocalize it.

"YOU STUPID BITCH!" Quinn shouted over the brunette's shoulder trying desperately to brake free from Santana's hold on her.

The entire restaurant turned to the corner to see who shouted. Kelly and the softball player wheeled around to see as well. Kelly let go of the girl and her face turned from happy to mortified in less than a second.

"Quinn… I… This isn't what it looks like!" She said trying to save face. Santana turned and shot her a glare that certainly could have killed anyone if it were at all possible.

"THEN WHAT IS IT HUH? IT SURE AS HELL LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING TO ME!" She screamed through her tears.

"Q, come on, let's just go." Santana said trying to get her friend out of the situation all together. She was coming pretty close to letting the blonde go and beating the shit out of the girl for doing this to her best friend but she knew that Kelly had meant everything to Quinn and she knew how much this was breaking her best friend's heart.

"Baby I can explain…" Kelly ran over to the two girls and tried console the blonde but Santana stopped her by swatting away her outstretched hand.

"I suggest you leave… right now before I knock out every single one of your teeth! If you ever come near Quinn again or attempt to contact her in any way, shape, or form, I will kill you myself. Now get the fuck out of my way!" Santana said through gritted teeth, trying with every ounce of will power she had not to hit the basketball player.

Quinn looked at her girlfriend with a tear-filled angry glare. "We're done!"

With that, Quinn pushed past Santana and stomped out of Breadstix. The brunette gave one final glare at the now ex-girlfriend and followed Quinn.

It took the blonde almost 6 months to finally get over Kelly but she only moderately dated and sex had been out of the question since then. She never let anyone see her with all of her walls down again and to be honest, nobody blamed her.

_END FLASHBACK_

Santana slipped her arm around Quinn's shoulders and pulled her in. The blonde rested her head on the Latina's shoulder and they sat there in silence for a while.

"I don't know what to do San. This feeling that I have for Rachel is more than just a little crush and it's stupid to even think this would happen. I've barely just met her and already she's occupying most of my thoughts." Quinn finally admitted.

Santana rested her head on Quinn's and sighed.

"I know the feeling Q, but you shouldn't be afraid of letting someone in again just because one bitch couldn't keep it in her pants. You were better then her anyways and she didn't deserve you."

Quinn let out a short laugh. "This coming from the one who's shield mimics the Great Wall of China."

"Hey in my defense, I feel the same way about Brittany as you do about Rachel and it scares the shit out of me. I want to be with her though and as much as I'm afraid to let her in, I don't really have much choice in the matter. She makes me happy and I don't feel so guarded when I'm around her."

Quinn giggled at her friends confession.

"What are you laughing at now?" Santana said lifting up her head and looking down at her friend.

"Oh nothing." The blonde said sarcastically. _You are so in love with this girl and you don't even know it!_Quinn thought to herself.

"Whatever." The brunette didn't think much of it so she let it go. "You ready to go meet the lovely ladies for dinner?"

"Yeah." Quinn smiled and Santana scooted off the bunk. Quinn gave Santana a hug.

"Thanks S."

"Yeah, yeah." She patted Quinn on the back and shrugged off the mushiness.

Quinn just shook her head and the two headed off towards the DC.

**XXXXXXXXX**

After the fiasco back at the cabin, the girls only had about 15 minutes to eat before they had to run back to the cabin to grab their gear and be back up at the field for their team session with one of the instructors. To everyone's relief, it wasn't Coach Sylvester. They went over drills that could be implemented into their practices. Quinn sat out during this practice because she knew that it was a scheduled one and the coaches would never allow it. Hell, Santana almost flipped her shit earlier when Quinn came onto the field with all of her gear and wanted to play. The Latina finally got tired of listening to her whining and agreed to it only because she wouldn't shut up with the smart ass remarks to everyone.

It was rounding 10:30PM when they finally finished. They were all having way too much fun to stop at their scheduled time and Coach Beiste didn't mind in the slightest. In fact, the women was rather impressed with how the team conducted themselves and worked together. Each encouraged one another and she could tell that they all had a really close bond. Especially, Santana, Puck, and Quinn. Santana was a true leader as far as she could tell and she worked hard for the things that she wanted while still having fun with her friends.

"Alright guys and gals, great practice but I think we should call it a night. Lights out in 30 minutes." Everyone said their goodbyes and started to head back to their bunks.

"Lopez!" Do you have a moment?" The coach asked and Santana nodded. She let her team file past her before walking back over towards Coach Beiste.

"Everything alright Coach?" The Latina asked now standing slightly awkward while awaiting the answer.

"Everything's fine. I just wanted to tell you that you seem to have a well put-together team there and you are doing a great job as their captain. You have a strong command presence and they all respect you. It's hard to find that in a leader." The woman smiled.

Santana didn't always know how to handle compliments. She always felt taken aback, almost like when everyone sings Happy Birthday to you and you just sort of sit there not really knowing what to do with yourself.

"I uh… thanks I guess." She replied with a half smile.

Coach Beiste returned the smile and nodded a 'you're welcome.'

"Have you gotten a schedule for the captains meetings and practices? They are optional of course because not everyone has the same schedules and open sections in their day."

"Nope, didn't get one." She shook her head.

"Here," the woman handed Santana a piece of paper from her clipboard, "whenever you have time, come on over." If you have any co-captains they are welcome to join you as well."

"Thank you, I'll see if I have free time." The brunette said as she took the paper and glanced it over quickly before looking up.

"Alright, well I'll let you go get some sleep. If anyone stops you on the way back for being out of bed after lights out just give them this." She handed Santana a small piece of paper; a permission slip of some sort.

"Thanks coach, night." She said with a small wave and turned to leave.

"Goodnight."

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Santana walked briskly back to her cabin. The night air was getting a little cooler but not bad enough to require a jacket. She approached her cabin and quietly opened the door. It was dark so she assumed Quinn and Mercedes had already fallen asleep. She walked over to the bathroom counter and switched on the light so she could wash her face. Once she was finished she glanced over towards her and Quinn's bunks and noticed that the blonde wasn't there. She then peeked around the corner to look towards Mercedes bed, empty as well.

The Latina tossed her hand towel on the counter and walked towards the door grabbing her cell phone from her bed as she went. She opened the door and peeked out before stepping outside, making sure that there were no chaperones or coaches walking by.

She dialed Quinn's number but it went straight to voicemail. She then tried Mercedes' phone only to hear the ringtone blaring in their cabin.

Before she could say any curse words in response to the current problem, pale, toned arms wrapped around her and gave a tight squeeze. In a normal situation Santana would have tightened up and turned around to address the person who was sneaking up behind her. But she had gotten used to those arms over the past few days, mostly because a certain blonde had a tendency to greet her from behind most of the time. She smiled at the memory of the first time Brittany had greeted her at the dance.

"Hey Britt." She said softly and moved her hands down to rest them on the blonde's.

"How did you know it was me?" She said, pulling on arm out from under Santana's and pulling a curtain of her raven hair to one side and placing a soft kiss on her shoulder before moving up to place one more soft lingering kiss on the Latina's neck.

"Mhhh" Santana hums softly at the feeling. Brittany smiles into her neck.

"What are you doing out so late?" Santana says, almost forgetting that they weren't supposed to be outside.

"Just coming to see you actually. What are you doing outside?" Santana turned in the blondes arms to face her.

"Well I was going to go to bed but then I realized that Quinn and Mercedes disappeared and I need to find them before we all get in trouble. Our practice went longer than I expected. I'm really sorry we didn't get a chance to hang out."

Brittany gave the Latina a sly smirk. "You won't find them… well… not unless you come with me anyway."

Santana furrowed her brow.

"So you kidnap my friends to get me to go somewhere with you?" She asked jokingly.

"Well I gotta have some incentive don't I?"

"You could have just asked me." The Latina said with a small laugh.

"But what fun would that be?" Brittany said with a wink.

"Alright so where are we going then?"

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

**Alright, next chapter will be the camp out. Let me know what you guys want to see happen. Thank you all for the Story Alerts and favorites! These chapters past few chapters involve a lot of fillers to give you the background information. Things will start picking up the pace here within the next few chapters but I don't want to rush right into it yet. Happy Halloween Everyone! NEW EPISODE OF GLEE THE DAY AFTER! =DD BRITTANA IS ON!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Sorry for the delay guys. The last of my midterms were last week and I had family and personal problems to address before I could finish this chapter. I'm glad that I still have a great deal of new story alerts and favorites. It makes my day all the better.**

**Chapter 9**

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"Owhh, shit! Brittany what the hell are we doing out here?" The Latina asked, rather annoyed with the fact that that was the fourth time that she failed to dodge a tree branch from ducking under the low hanging trees.

Brittany tried to suppress the giggles but it wasn't any use.

"Sure, laugh it up. Are you sure you aren't bringing me out here to murder me? Did you really kidnap my friends… are you sacrificing them or something for some cult ritual or whatever?"

The blonde just gave her a pointed look. "Really Santana? I'm not going to murder you. We can't have the parentals snooping around."

"I was kidding geez. No but seriously, why are we so far out here?"

"You'll see."

The Latina just shrugged and followed the blonde deeper into the woods.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

"Puck did you bring your guitar?" Quinn asked before pulling Rachel in to snuggle at her side.

"Duh!" Puck answered while pulling a beer from the cooler. Everyone assumed he must have snagged one from the many locations around the camp.

The Riots and the Showstoppers were gathered around a campfire, a few sitting on some logs while the others were cuddled up on their sleeping bags.

"Well why don't you play something?"

"I told Brittany I would wait until her and Santana got here."

"Speaking of which, where are they? Brittany has been gone a while." Rachel cut in, now a little concerned that her friend hadn't returned to the group.

"Santana probably kept them a little 'preoccupied;' if you know what I'm saying." Puck suggested with a smirk while emphasizing the word with air quotes.

Everyone laughed with the exception of Rachel. "You make it sound like Brittany was so willing to just give herself over so easily."

"Oh come on Rach, you see the way they look at each other, I highly doubt Brittany would object to it." Quinn offered, still snickering.

"I would appreciate it if our sex life was kept out of your discussions." Everyone turned towards Santana's voice as her and Brittany walked out of the surrounding trees, hand-in-hand, and over to the group.

"No, we weren't having sex and as for the delay, we had to wait to walk this direction because a counselor was roaming around with a few security guards." Brittany directed the additional piece of information towards Puck, who just ducked his head down at her glare.

"And you're one to talk Fabray. After all, I did walk into a little something between you two," the Latina pointed between Rachel and Quinn with her free hand, "looked a lot more than innocent kissing." She said with a raised eyebrow.

Both Quinn and Rachel's mouths dropped in shock. Brittany, along with the rest of the group just giggled softly, trying not to embarrass the girls anymore than they obviously already were. Santana wore the biggest smirk, still watching her best friends face.

"I told you I would give you shit for it!"

"Did you have to say it in front of everyone?" Rachel let out.

"Hey, you basically said I whored myself off. Just saying." Santana raised her hands up.

Quinn just scowled. "Oh it's on Lopez."

"All day baby! Bring it!"

Everyone just laughed. Brittany lead Santana over to their seats, Quinn must have grabbed Santana's sleeping bag because it was unfolded next to Brittany's.

"What do you guys want to drink?"

"Beer for me." Santana said.

"Same." Brittany followed.

Puck tossed them one at a time towards Santana who handed the first one to the blonde before catching her own and popping the top.

Everyone had started drinking when they got there so they were a few drinks ahead of the couple. Puck and Sam brought out their guitars and strummed for a few moments to tune them. The rest of the group chattered mindlessly, laughing at almost everything. It was crazy how well almost complete strangers got along so well, almost as if they had known each other their whole lives. Mike, Tina, Mercedes, Kurt, and Blaine were having their own conversation about something or rather. Stacey was there also, listening in and laughing with the others. Luke, Drew, Puck, Finn, and Sam were all chatting about music while Santana, Brittany, Quinn, Rachel, Artie, and Dave were having a discussion about their favorite sports teams.

"Alright, got these all tuned up. What's everyone want to hear?" Sam said loud enough to get everyone's attention. Everyone turned back facing the fire pit.

"Do you guys know any Barbra Streisand songs?" Rachel asked.

"Absolutely not!" Santana interjected.

"Her music is wonderful Santana. I don't understand your distasteful tone."

"My distaste goes towards the fact that we aren't living in the last century. I'm not singing show tunes. We had enough of that in glee club."

"You were in glee club?" Rachel asked, now looking at Quinn for confirmation, who only nodded with a small smile."

"Still are. You sound shocked. Paintball isn't the only thing we do." Dave pointed out.

"I wasn't implying anything by it, I just didn't know. We are all in the glee club at our school too. How come we have never competed against you before?"

"Ms. C wanted us to but we all had other activities that we didn't want to give up, including paintball, so we mostly just do special events at the school and such." Artie answered.

"Why don't we try a group number then, who harmonizes and who can lead?" Finn asked.

"We all can do both for the most part." Mercedes answered for the Riots.

"Same for all of us." Rachel gestured towards her team.

"I think I know just the number then." Puck said as he leaned over towards Sam to whisper something that wasn't audible to the rest of the group. Sam nodded and began plucking at the strings on his guitar. The intro wasn't recognizable at first because it wasn't normally set into just an acoustic guitar. Puck entered in with a back up rhythm though and everyone smiled and started to Journey's, 'Don't Stop Believin.' Sam and Puck repeated the chords once again and this time everyone joined in for the beginning of the song.

Both groups had performed it before but Finn and Rachel jumped to start. Nobody objected. Their voices went well together and everyone smiled at how well the harmonies fit.

When Sam and Puck nodded to each other and then to the group for one more repeat of the ending chords and they all finished together.

"That was amazing! We all sounded so great together!" Rachel broke out in a huge grin.

"Totally! What next?" Brittany said rather excitedly, making Santana turn and grin at how happy the blonde was.

"May I?" Santana asked.

Everyone nodded and Brittany shifted to face all of her attention on the Latina. Santana gestured her hand towards the mohawked boy. Puck pulled the sling off from around his head and handed his guitar over to her. She stood up and took it from him before moving towards the log to sit down.

Santana started to strum on the instrument and gauged the tempo before starting to sing.

**_I hung up the phone tonight_**

**_Something happened for the first time_**

**_Deep inside_**

**_It was a rush, what a rush_**

**_Cause the possibility_**

**_That you would ever feel the same way about me_**

**_It's just too much, just too much_**

**_Why do I keep running from the truth_**

**_All I ever think about is you_**

**_You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized_**

**_And I just got to know_**

Santana was strumming more passionately now, looking at Brittany the entire time.

**_Do you ever think_**

**_When you're all alone_**

**_All that we could be_**

**_Where this thing could go_**

**_Am I crazy or fallin' in love  
><em>**  
><strong><em>Is it really just another crush<br>_**  
><strong><em>Do you catch your breath<br>_**  
><strong><em>When I look at you<br>_**  
><strong><em>Are you holding back<br>_**  
><strong><em>Like the way you do<br>_**  
><strong><em>Cause I'm tryin', tryin to walk away<br>_**  
><strong><em>But I know this crush ain't going away, going away<em>**

Brittany was fixated on the girl's very being, taking in all of her movements, her expressions, her passion. Santana was pouring her soul out while singing the song and it made the blonde's heart swell. Nobody had ever made her feel so cared about before.

Santana finished the next verse of the song before repeating the chorus once more and strumming out the ending of the song. Everyone clapped and cheered.

She sat there silently for a moment just looking into Brittany's eyes. Her expression was hard to read because she wasn't entirely sure how the dancer would react to the song.

Quinn and Rachel looked to one another before looking between their friends. "That's the first time she's ever sung to someone before." The shorter blonde whispered to Rachel as they both clapped slowly.

Brittany stood up and moved towards the Latina. Everyone kindly turned their attention away from the two and started up their grouped conversations again, realizing they probably wanted their privacy.

Santana pulled the guitar strap from around her neck and placed it in the case before looking at Brittany.

"Is that really how you feel?" The blonde asked quietly.

Santana nodded and reached to grip Brittany's hands in her own. "I don't know how all this is supposed to work. I've never cared about someone as much as I care about you. I don't do relationships because it involves feelings and usually involves drama," the blonde looked down, somewhat disappointed at the answer, "but," Brittany looked up into brown eyes, "I want to try with you. I know that we haven't known each other that long, but I really like you Britt."

The blonde couldn't help the enormously large grin that seemed to pull at her lips. She reached up and cupped the back of the Latina's neck and pulled her into a heated kiss.

Santana smiled against Brittany's lips and continued to kiss her back until air was needed.

"So… is that a yes?" Santana asked as she rested their foreheads together and wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist.

Brittany just chuckled. "I didn't hear a question in there."

Santana just rolled her eyes before looking back into blue eyes. When the blonde still didn't respond, she finally spoke up.

"Seriously, you aren't gonna answer me?"

"I told you I didn't hear a question." Brittany giggled and pecked her lips.

The Latina just sighed and rolled her eyes once more. "Agh... Fine, Brittany will you be my girlfriend?" She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth.

"You're so cute when you're nervous and it's so fun to tease you," Brittany leaned down to peck her lips once more, "And yes… I will be your girlfriend."

Santana smiled and kissed her girlfriend again. _Girlfriend… I definitely love the sound of that._ The Latina thought.

"Alright already! You guys are so cute it's disgusting!" Kurt let out with a chuckle.

"Can it dude, this is like the hottest thing in the world!" Puck cut in. "Please ladies, continue!" He said turning back to the couple. Both girls scoffed and moved to sit back down on their sleeping bags.

"Aww, come on really?" Puck pouted. Stacey wasn't impressed and just punched the boy in the shoulder. He yelped in pain.

"Serves you right!" She let out. Everyone just howled out in laughter.

"Why am I always the one to get punched?" Puck grumbled.

"Maybe because you're a horny little shit and can't respect the fact that some people don't want to put on a show for you…" Quinn cut in between laughs.

Santana and Brittany cuddled closely together, Santana, with Brittany pressed to her front and her arms around the blonde. Brittany held onto the embrace and the Latina placed her chin on the blondes shoulder, placing light kisses to her neck every now and then. Both of their smiles couldn't be wiped away.

Puck and Sam played a few more numbers that everyone sang along to. Mind you that everyone was now pretty much matched in how much they had drank and were pretty buzzed.

"WHO'S READY FOR SOME SHOTS!" Puck questioned.

The group cheered their approval.

"How about we spice it up a little bit with some body shots?" Puck added.

"Only because I get to lick salt off my boyfriends perfect abs!" Tina chimed. Everyone laughed along with the couple as they shared a kiss.

"Awwww!" The group let out in unison. Tina blushed while Mike just pulled her in close with a smile.

Puck, Dave, and Artie poured the shots for everyone and they all gathered around.

"Ok, I think-" Puck was cut off by Brittany who was holding her shot with one hand and Santana's free hand with the other.

"Hang on… We can go for two shots, but first one, let's have a toast. To an amazing summer with amazing friends… new and old!" She held her glass up in the air as everyone matched her words and held up their glasses before simultaneously downing them together.

After a quick celebration the boys refilled the shot glasses and handed them back to everyone. Puck grabbed the salt and lime.

"Ok I realize that you were able to sneak in this insane amount of alcohol, but where in the world did you get the salt and lime?"

Puck gave Rachel a pointed look. Obviously she didn't know him that well which was why the Riots burst into laughter.

"Rach, Puck is basically known for being able to sneak anything… from anywhere… anytime." Quinn slurred out.

"Basically meaning that I used my ninja skills and snuck it out of the DC." He puffed out his chest with pride.

"Way to stroke his ego Q." Santana added. "Puck, if your 'ninja skills' are so helpful, why do I keep kicking your ass in practice?"

"Ohhhhhhh!" Everyone laughed out together. He scoffed and flipped everyone off.

"Alright, alright. Let's do this. Who's first?" Artie said as he got everyone to calm back down.

"Why don't we ask the new couple?" Dave smirked and turned his head dramatically towards Brittany and Santana.

Both girls shrugged and eyed each other with their silent conversation before nodding. Brittany laid down on her back and lifted up her shirt. Santana poured the salt over the pail stomach before taking the shot glass and handing the lime wedge to Brittany.

"Shot… shot…shot…!" The group started up the cheers. Santana smirked and winked at Brittany before dipping to her stomach and trailing her tongue up the salt trail extremely slow.

The blonde squirmed a bit and her breath hitched. Santana could see the goosebumps form on her lower body before she lifted her head to take the shot and moved up to meet the blondes lips to get the lime. She took it from Brittany's mouth and into her own to retrieve the chaser. She pulled the peal from her mouth and licked her lips before leaning down again and capturing Brittany's lips.

The group cheered.

"Oh god, MAIL…MAIL!" Finn shouted before jumping up from the log he was sitting on and running towards the trees.

"What the fuck?" Puck and Sam looked at each other before turning back to a retreating Finn.

The Showstoppers laughed even louder then before. Mike answered the confused looks on everyone else's faces.

"He…uh… well, he has a tendency to not always be able to control certain… umm… functions…" The Asian boy trailed off.

Sam, Puck, Artie, and Luke still looked confused while Santana, Quinn, Mercedes, and Dave just burst into laughter.

"What just happened? Why are you guys laughing?" Puck looked desperate for an answer.

"Dude, he couldn't hold it in!" Dave said between trying to breath and laughing.

"If he had to take a leak, why didn't he just get up and go? What was the point of running off like a crazy person?" Puck asked.

"No, Puck, he means the show that these lovely ladies just displayed was too much for him to take so he had to go relieve himself." Kurt tried to clarify.

Obviously the boys still couldn't understand the subtle hints so Santana just put it to them bluntly. "Oh my god, I swear you guys are as dumb as rocks. He blew his load early!"

The boys looked at each other once more before bursting into laughter with the rest of the group.

All of the couples finished their body shots while the others took their shots in between the displays. Finn eventually came back, extremely embarrassed but nobody really took notice as everyone was now more drunk.

After that was all done, they sang a few more songs, some as a group, others as duets, and a few more solo performances. Puck hooked up his iPhone to his portable speakers and let the playlist entertain everyone from there. They played a few drinking card games and a game of Never-Have-I-Ever, before everyone started to doze off.

Brittany had stopped drinking a while back and grabbed a few water bottles before making her way back over to her and Santana's sleeping bags. The Latina was sprawled out, holding her head.

"San? You ok?" The blonde asked as she sat down next to her girlfriend.

"Everything's spinning." She groaned.

"Here, drink this." Brittany twisted off the cap of the water bottle and moved to help the Latina sit up a bit. Santana sipped on the water before resting her head on the blondes lap.

"Tonight was fun." Santana said after a long silence with her eyes closed and a small smile.

"It was." The blonde returned the smile and ran her fingers through brunette hair. "My favorite part was the song, and of course the part where you asked me to be your girlfriend."

Santana grinned, still with her eyes closed. "You are worth all of it." She confessed tiredly. Brittany chuckled softly which made Santana open her eyes and sit up.

"I mean it. Look, I'm not good with feelings or whatever so the only way I really knew how to say all of that was to sing it to you."

"Shhh, San I know. It's ok, Quinn told me." Brittany said placing a soft kiss on her lips to get her to relax.

"Wait Quinn told you what?" She asked when they parted.

"When you were playing the card game with the boys. She told me a little more about your personality and what the deal was with the feelings." Brittany paused and smiled wider now. "She also told me that that was the first time you ever sang for anyone."

Santana dipped her head down and blushed which only made Brittany's lips curl up more. Quinn didn't need to tell her that she was obviously the only one that had this effect on the Latina.

"I loved it, all of it, San." She said genuinely. Santana looked up to meet bright blue eyes.

They stared at each other for a few moments before Santana cupped a pale cheek and gently pulled the girl into a soft kiss. When they pulled back they each wore matching grins.

Brittany shuffled to lay down and pulled Santana down with her and pulling her back into her front. She cuddled as close as she could to her Latina before pulling one of their sleeping bags up all around their bodies. The blonde nuzzled her shoulder with her nose and placed a few light kisses on her neck as they fell into a calm and happy sleep, wrapped in each others arms.

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

**Alright, again I apologize for the wait on this chapter. Things tend to get crazy all at once. I hope you liked it. New one should be up within a few days.**

**How was last Tuesday's episode? I will admit, my jaw was dropped in shock almost the entire episode. And that slap! He totally deserved wayyyy worse. Naya deserves all the awards for that performance!**

**I love music but I have no idea about the names for everything so I hope you don't judge to harshly for my wording as far as the part where they are singing.**

**Please comment and review! =)**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello my Lovely's =) Alright so I wanted to give a special shout out to my reviewers from last chapter because you have stuck with the story since the beginning and have given me so much inspiration.**

**Rosswellmorgana- My midterms went very well and family and personal issues have been resolved. Thank you so much. =)**

**Kurly123- Haha I always got a kick out of the MAIL scenes and thought I could throw it in there. So glad you liked it.**

**I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story so far. Last chapter I forgot to give credit for the song I used when Santana sang to Brittany. It was Crush by David Archuleta.**

**Anyways… lets get down to it. We are gonna be jumping forward a bit in the middle of this chapter. Up until now the time frame has been clustered together for their first weekend and a few days of the first week at camp, but now they are going to go into their second week.**

**WARNING: THIS CHAPTER WILL INVOLVE SEX, THEREFORE I AM CHANGING THE RATING FROM 'T' to 'M'.**

**Chapter 10**

**XXXXXXXXXXXX**

Santana woke up to the sound of a light chirping coming from a bird of some sort in one of the many surrounding trees. As she slowly opened her eyes she smiled at a sleeping blonde laying only a few inches away still wrapped up in her arms. The brunette watched her chest rise and fall in shallow breaths. She reached up slowly and gently pushed a strand of hair off of her pale face and behind her ear.

"You're so beautiful." The Latina whispered, trying not to wake her up.

Brittany kept her eyes closed but couldn't help the grin that spread across her face at her girlfriends words. Santana blushed and turned her head into the pillow that they were sharing.

"You were awake the whole time weren't you?" Santana mumbled.

Brittany just giggled before lifting up slightly to press a kiss to a tanned cheek.

"Why is that a bad thing?" Brittany asked slightly amused at the fact that the Latina was embarrassed with her actions.

"No… just didn't know you were awake is all."

"So you wouldn't have said it if I was awake?" The blonde teased.

Santana pulled her face out of the pillow suddenly. "What? No… it's just… I… I thought you were sleeping and I didn't mean to wake you up and-." She stuttered out before Brittany silenced her with a searing kiss.

"You're really cute when you ramble but you should just stop talking… I was just teasing you." Brittany was still giggling. Santana was already at a loss for words after the kiss.

The effect that the blonde had over the Latina even without physical contact only added to the chemistry between them. Santana would never admit it, but she would lose all resolve with just a single look from Brittany.

After a long and loving look between the two, Santana found her voice.

"I always think you're beautiful Britt." She said with a soft smile. It was Brittany's turn to blush this time and she just shuffled closer to her girlfriend to hide her flushed face in the crook of Santana's neck. The brunette just smiled.

"Call me crazy, but I sorta get the feeling that you don't like it either now do you?" She asked referring to how they both didn't like to catch the other blushing.

The dancer smiled into her skin and she leaned up slightly to press an open mouthed kiss to the brunette's neck. _No way in hell I'm admitting to that._ Brittany thought.

"Cheater…" Santana closed her eye's at the feeling and pulled her lower lip between her teeth as she felt her girlfriend bite down gently. She turned her head slightly to give her better access.

Brittany swung her leg over Santana's hip and simultaneously rolled them both to the side so the Latina was now laying flat on her back and the blonde was straddling her hips. Santana's hands went immediately to toned thighs and moved slowly up to grip her girlfriend's waist before pulling her closer. Brittany leaned down once more to capture full lips with her own.

"You guys do know the rest of us are here, right?" Mercedes voice rang out from one of the many bundles of sleeping bags scattered around the fire.

Brittany sat up slowly with a funny smirk on her face. Both girls honestly could care less that they were caught in a make-out session. And extremely hot make-out session at that.

"Wheezy, our clothes are still on." Santana said matter of factually.

"Whatever you say, Satan." Mercedes said tiredly.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Soon after the interruption, the rest of the group started to wake up. Everyone was groggy and you could definitely tell who didn't take care of themselves to prevent the hangovers.

Everyone gathered up their stuff and put all of the empty alcohol bottles into a trash bag. Puck would know how to dispose of the evidence. The walk back wasn't so bad now that they had daylight. However, for the select few who were sporting nasty hangovers, lets just say a few people lost their tempers at all the groaning and the swearing to a higher power that they would never drink again.

Once they got closer to camp they heard all the hustle and bustle. The camp was in full swing for the day. Santana grabbed her phone out her pocket to check the time. They were rounding on 11:30. Both teams didn't have anything until that afternoon but they were still shocked to see how long they had slept in and how long it actually took them to walk back. The group went unnoticed for the most part as they walked back towards their cabins. It was somewhat strange to see a group of people with their sleeping bags out of their cabins though, which was the only reason for the peculiar looks.

"Alright guys, we have a group session at 2 on field 7 so go do whatever you gotta do. We are gonna go for lunch at 12:30 for whoever wants to join." Santana told her team. Everyone nodded and said their goodbyes before heading back to their cabins.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

The first week of camp was more or less the same as far as scheduling goes. Both teams were busy with either their team practices or group and individualized sessions. Brittany and Santana would spend most of their meals or down time together, whether it would be just hanging out and taking a walk or jumping into pick-up matches where they would dominate the field together. Both actually became somewhat of an unstoppable team. Almost everyone knew that they were a couple, a two-shot, and they also knew that if by some chance they happened to be playing against them, they most certainly would lose.

Their movements became somewhat second nature. Both usually knew what the other was going to do, even before they did it. More or less like how Santana and her team functioned together on the field. They would accompany each other to their captain's meetings and short sessions as well with Coach Beiste.

The bond between them only grew stronger as the days passed. They became even more comfortable with each other, almost as if they had known each other their entire lives.

By the time that the middle of the second week rolled around, Wednesday to be exact, Brittany and Santana found themselves together on their down time after dinner. Their walks around camp had become pretty much an everyday ritual, sometimes even adding up to 2 or 3 per day. As much as they loved hanging out with their friends, and more often than not they hung out with their group, there were those few occasions where they just wanted to have some alone time as a couple.

They had grown accustomed to carrying around a few flashlights because they never knew how long they would be out walking. They always found a new trail to walk on. You would think they would have found them all by now, but no, they found themselves on a new one. It was a good thing Santana had been an expert in navigation from her training in ROTC because without it, the couple would have certainly gotten lost out in the woods on more than one occasion.

They walked hand-in-hand through the trees along the path just talking about their day. Both had a packed schedule and their lunch times hadn't matched up that day so dinner was the first time they had seen each other since breakfast. They smiled and laughed at each others stories of some of the people that had been in their individualized sessions.

When they came to an opening in the tree line they noticed the lake they both loved so much, only this time they were on the opposite side they normally sat on. The sun was starting to set which made the water reflect the orange, purple, and dark blue hue.

The beach on this side of the lake was smaller and the dock sat closer to shore.

"Wanna go for a swim?" The blonde asked her girlfriend with a playful look in her eye.

Santana just turned her head and smirked. "First one to the dock?"

With that, the Latina took off in a dead sprint, discarding clothing as she ran towards the water.

"Oh you're so dead!" Brittany said as her reaction time sped up and she followed behind Santana, her clothes also landing in a trail towards the water.

The brunette stripped down to only her bra and boy shorts when she made her way into the water. She jogged in, waist deep, before diving forward and swimming out towards the dock floating only 30 or so yards away. Santana was a more than average swimmer. Again, one of the many benefits of ROTC training. On one of her upstrokes, she managed to glance back, slightly shocked that Brittany was gaining on her. _Damn her long legs._

Santana pushed forward, now paddling faster. She reached the dock with ease and climbed the ladder and waited for Brittany to surface. The blonde really wasn't that far behind her.

Brittany made it seconds later and reached up with one hand to edge of the dock to hold herself up while wiping the water from her eyes with the other.

"What's wrong? I thought you could keep up?" Santana smiled teasingly.

"Funny, I didn't need to cheat to win." She shot back, equally as playfully.

Santana just mocked being hurt, putting her hand to her chest. "I did no such thing."

"Uh huh." Brittany said before flinging a jet of water up at the Latina and spraying her in the face.

Santana stands awestruck in her pretend shock, mouth agape and eyes scrunched together. Brittany pushes away from the dock with a wicked grin on her face.

Eyes still closed, the brunette reaches up to wipe the water from her eyes and face before looking down to a smirking Brittany, treading water.

"Now that wasn't very nice." Santana said, still in her stiffened state but pointing with one finger at her girlfriend.

Brittany just giggles. "What are you gonna do about it?" She mocks Santana's playfulness.

Santana goes to turn but suddenly back-flips and lands with a cannonball into the water, catching the blonde off guard. Water sprays everywhere; the Latina resurfaces and laughs while Brittany just shoves another wave of water towards the brunette. The blonde swims over to the dock and up the ladder. It was hard to focus now that she saw Brittany in just her sports bra and her own boy bikini style panties.

"Alright smartass, you think you got skills?" Brittany says as she backs up to the far side of the dock. Santana raises her arms out of the water to say 'by all means.'

Brittany takes a few steps forward and pulls a no handed cartwheel, landing at the edge of the dock, pushing off into a twisted layout, and finishing with an equally massive cannonball. When Brittany resurfaces, Santana just has a funny look on her face.

"Showoff!"

Brittany laughs and swims the few feet to her girlfriend who is now holding onto the side of the dock. Santana wraps her free arm around the dancers waist and Brittany wraps her legs around Santana's. The blonde rests her forehead against the Latina's and smiles.

"I think you're just a little upset that I'm more badass than you." Brittany giggles and pecks her lips.

"Oh, you wish!" Santana says before releasing her grip on the dock and dunking them both under the water.

When The Latina brought them back up, she could only laugh at the pout on Brittany's face. _Why the hell does she need to be so damn cute?_ Santana reached up slowly, brushing away a strand of hair that latched itself across her girlfriend's brow.

"You look really adorable when you pout Baby." _Shit, baby? Did I really just say that?_ The two hadn't really escalated to pet names yet. Sure they used them in a joking manner but never to address the other in a more loving way. _Was that too soon?_

"I uh… I'm… If you don't want me to call you that then I won't."

"What did I tell you about rambling?"

Santana halted her speech and all of her doubts about the name disappeared with Brittany's beaming smile, to which Santana returned. The Latina rested her forehead back against the blondes and they just stared into each others eyes for a few moments.

The brunette sighed heavily.

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Brittany asked nonchalantly. Santana just shook her head.

"Come on. Pleeeease." She asked again with that cute little pout. If anything, Brittany could seriously get anyone to do anything with that. Especially Santana.

"Okay, god," Santana smiled and let out a laugh, "I'll tell you." Brittany only grinned with her small victory.

"I was thinking about you."

"Me?"

"Yes, _you_." Santana confirmed as she leaned up and placed a small kiss on the blonde's nose.

"Well what were you thinking about while thinking about me?"

"Hmm, well…-" she breathes deeply. Quite honestly, there really isn't a long explanation to her thoughts. It actually isn't really an explanation, "Just how happy I am when I'm with you."

It's an easy confession, but it speaks in volumes. There is so much thought and profoundness to her words, even if it's only the simplest answer in the world. The time that Brittany has spent with Santana up to this point, she's learned that the Latina is relatively hard to get to know. Not small details like, favorite colors or which foods she prefers, but actual details about what makes her… well her. Why she's protective of the people she's closest to, why her personality fits so easily with everyone else's yet at the same time she's a completely different person, or why she's so guarded (Brittany has yet to figure out why but she's working on it).

Brittany's grin couldn't possibly get any bigger. She leaned down slowly and pulled Santana's lower lip between her own. The kiss was slow. They took their time just letting their lips mesh together, they way they did so perfectly.

Breathing became and issue after a minute or so and they reluctantly pulled away slowly, their faces only parting slightly, just enough to look at each other once more.

"You make me happy too, San. More happy than I've ever been in my life."

Santana closed the gap once more, this time kissing Brittany more passionately. The blonde slid both arms around the Latina's neck and tightened her grip with her legs around her waist. The brunette shifted in the water, letting go of Brittany's waist and moving her other hand up with the other to grip the edge of the dock, pinning the dancer to the side of the anchored platform.

Brittany let out a gasp at the contact but continued to let Santana take the lead. The Latina begged for entrance as her tongue glided across the dancer's lower lip. She granted it almost immediately and when their tongues clashed together both let out a load moan at the chills that shot through their bodies.

Again, the necessity for air became apparent and Brittany reluctantly broke the kiss. Santana only took the opportunity to continue and started to trail open-mouthed kisses, starting from the blonde's jaw and lowering down to her neck. She kissed, nipped, and sucked, first gently and then a little more aggressively once she gauged her girlfriends reactions.

The Latina's kisses started to make Brittany very aware of the growing ache between her legs and she involuntarily bucked her hips slightly into Santana's stomach.

"Oh!" Brittany let her eyes flutter closed and she gasped at the feeling which, in turn, made Santana notice her own tension starting to build.

The dancer released her grip on Santana's neck and moved her hands to cup her girlfriend's cheeks, pulling her back up from the assault on her neck and into a searing kiss.

It wasn't easy, considering every time the blonde's lips met Santana's she went light headed and almost forgot to breath most times, but she managed to side-shuffle her hands along the edge of the dock and to the latter. She slowly brought both their bodies out of the water and onto the dock, never breaking the kiss that they were so passionately sharing. Santana slowly lowered both of them onto the carpeted platform. She was able to position herself on her knees and leaned forward slightly, holding the blonde firmly around the waist with one hand and positioned her other hand palm down, to gently lay Brittany on her back.

Both of Brittany's legs were still firmly wrapped around a tanned waist. Santana reached back with the hand that wasn't holding herself up, to gently glide along the dancers toned leg, across her waist, before resting on her girlfriend's bare, toned stomach. Brittany moved one of her own hands and let if fall to grip the tanned one that belonged to her girlfriend and entwined their fingers.

Once again, the need to breathe overcame them both and they pulled away together. Their chests were rising and falling rapidly with each deep breath as blue orbs met chocolate brown.

"San? Are you ok?" Brittany asked between each breath when she noticed how nervous her girlfriend became.

"Yeah, I um… I just…" She trailed off.

Brittany propped herself up on her elbow and reached up to cup Santana's cheek.

"Baby, please tell me what's wrong."

Santana turned her head slightly to look away but Brittany followed her gaze by moving her head along with her girlfriend's.

"San?" She asked again gently and pulled Santana head to look back into her eyes.

"I've never done this before…" Santana whispered before looking away once more.

It's true. Santana's never slept with anyone, guy or girl. Again, she's dated plenty of girls but never once found someone that she connected with, or for that matter, ever cared about someone that much to give herself up completely to. She always thought that sex was so much more meaningful and something that two people shared with one another to show their partner how much they cared for the other. She never found that special someone.

"Hey…" Brittany whispered to her girlfriend trying to get her to look back into her eyes. She rubbed the pad of her thumb along her tanned cheek before gently pulling her face to look at her again. "I haven't either." The blonde confessed truthfully.

Santana stared into deep blue eyes for a few moments before Brittany spoke again.

"We don't have to. I'm content to just be with you." The blonde spoke softly but more genuinely than anyone has ever done in Santana's life.

The brunette looked lovingly into her girlfriends eyes for a few more moments. She didn't need anymore reassurance, she was ready to be with Brittany, and the fact that Brittany hadn't ever been with anyone before either made her love the girl all the more. _Wait…love? Holy shit!_

"I want to Britt… but only if you do."

Brittany caressed Santana's cheek once more and smiled. She nodded slowly and leaned up a little further to capture full lips in a soft kiss.

The blonde pulled away just enough to speak a few words.

"We'll do this together." She whispered before connecting once more.

Their lips fit so perfectly together, like a lock and key, just made for one another. The Latina reciprocated instantly, letting the gentle touch of Brittany's lips consume her once more. Santana breathed in sharply through her nose before pressing forward, urging Brittany to lay back down.

The blonde obliged and glided her hand back to her girlfriends neck to bring her down with her. Her other hand snaked gently to the small of Santana's back and traced lazy circles there.

Santana moaned at the touch that so easily sent shivers up her spine. To say that she was nervous would be an understatement. She wanted Brittany. This chemical reaction that floated between them could be spotted by complete strangers, but the thing that made this different was that Santana now knew that she loved Brittany. Up until this point she only knew that she cared about her… _a lot._ But loving the blonde scared the shit out of her. Feelings were not her strong suit and she knew that the second that _love_ became part of the equation then things would pull her into all knew territory.

They weren't rushing anything, rather taking their time to learn every inch of each others bodies by the soft touches and lingering kisses. Everything was gentle, so admiring.

Brittany lightly sucked Santana's lower lip between her teeth before releasing it and letting the Latina deepen the kiss. Pale hands made their way up olive skin to her bra before stopping their movements and resting over the clasp. Santana nodded into the kiss they were sharing, granting her permission to continue. With one hand, Brittany unhooked it, letting the material loosen around her girlfriends torso.

A feather light skim of fingers made their way from Santana's back up to her shoulders and down her arms where the straps rested. One at a time, the Latina lifted her hands from their resting place on the platform beneath Brittany so that the blonde could pull the piece of clothing away.

Santana was resting on her knees, still wrapped up in Brittany's legs, so she took the opportunity of the positioning to reach back and around her girlfriends neck and pulled her up slowly, her forearm wrapped around pale shoulders so that they were both sitting, Brittany now on the Latina's lap. She broke contact and started trailing kisses along the blonde's cheek, to her jaw, and down her neck.

Brittany leaned her head back and to the side, giving Santana more access. She brought her hands up and pulled at the band holding Santana's ponytail up. It slid slowly away and the blonde entangled her fingers through wet, raven colored hair as it fell down along tanned shoulders.

Santana's kisses found their way down to Brittany's shoulder and then to her collarbone. Her hands glided up from her hips and along hers sides to where the hem of the blonde's sports bra was and started the motion to lift it up. Brittany raised her arms up slowly from brunette hair, letting Santana know that it was ok for her to remove it. Not wanting to lose the feeling of Brittany's skin beneath her own, the Latina kept her palms rested on either side and glided her fingers up in between the elastic band of her sports bra before gripping it and pulling it up and over the blonde's head.

Once the fabric was discarded next to Santana's, the Latina tightened her grip back around Brittany's waist and rocked forward to settle again on her knees before gently laying the dancer on her back again. Brittany loosened her legs for the first time and Santana maneuvered herself so that one leg was now between her girlfriends. She lowered herself down and both moaned when the pressure of their thighs hit each others core.

Brittany pulled Santana in for another heated kiss and let her other hand roam from her girlfriends waist, up her stomach before she stopped just below her breast. She was hesitant and Santana could sense it.

_Together._ The brunette reached down with her free hand and placed it on top of Brittany's before gliding both of them over the mound. Santana whimpered into her girlfriends mouth at the feeling and arched her body further into Brittany's touch. The action simultaneously made them both rock their hips against each others and another gasped ripped through them.

Both rocked gently against each other, letting the feeling overcome them. Santana didn't really know why, but every time she did something that elicited a noise from her girlfriend, she noticed her own arousal build further. Taking note of the feeling, the Latina once again trailed kisses down Brittany's neck. She reached up more or less in the same way the blonde had done to her moments ago and palmed her breast.

Brittany's breath hitched and her mouth opened slightly forming an 'O' and arching up into Santana's hand. The friction at their cores increased and it started to make Brittany's head spin.

Santana continued kissing her way down her girlfriends neck and down her chest before moving to try something new. She moved to Brittany's opposite breast before sucking it into her mouth and tracing patterns over her hardening nipple with her tongue.

"Oh god.. S-San… feels… so good." Brittany let out between breaths, finding it hard to form coherent words. Santana worked the same breast for a few more moments before removing her hand and switching to the other.

Basing her actions off Brittany's reactions, she continued her open mouthed kisses down her stomach. When she reached the band of Brittany's panties, she slightly pulled a section down, exposing one of Brittany's hip bones. Santana maneuvered down slowly.

Brittany whimpered at the loss contact that they had during their steady rocking but it was quickly lost in a gasp of pleasure when her girlfriend started kissing the sensitive area between her hip bone and her core. She moved to entangle one hand in Santana's hair while the other moved to cover her mouth.

All of these feelings were so knew to both of them. Sure they had touched themselves before, but it was a completely different story when someone else was doing it to you.

Brittany's hips bucked and it caused Santana to release the hem of her girlfriend's panties, the momentum in turn causing her hand to brush against the blonde's core. The gasp that followed sent shivers through the Latina's body. All she knew is she wanted to hear it again.

Santana's nerves returned and she gulped audibly. She looked up to blue eye's for permission.

Brittany was nervous as well, but when brown eye's met her own, she knew without a doubt that she loved the girl staring back at her. Not because she felt she had to to justify what they were doing. She knew a few days ago when it was just the two of them sitting together on one of the benches, Santana's arms wrapped around her and sitting quietly watching the sun set over the trees. This just confirmed it because Santana cared enough about her to ask. It didn't need to be audible. She understood.

Brittany swallowed and nodded. Santana sensed how nervous her girlfriend was and moved back up and placed a gentle kiss on her lips, letting their foreheads rest together before looking deep into the blonde's eyes.

"Are you sure?" She asked sincerely. The only way she could continue is if she knew Brittany was 100 percent comfortable.

Brittany smiled and nodded again. "I'm sure. I trust you." She kissed Santana passionately, reassuring her of her words.

When they broke the kiss, Santana moved to remove the last piece of clothing. She slowly tugged the material down, Brittany arching up to let them be pulled off completely.

Santana added the garment to the small pile and moved back up to kiss Brittany once more. She slowly skimmed over pale skin with her finger tips, starting from the blonde's cheek, to her neck, down her stomach, before reaching her core. She dipped down to Brittany's wet center for the first time, gently rubbing up and down along her folds.

The blonde moaned into Santana's mouth and arched her hips for more friction. With a few passes, Santana found the sensitive bundle of nerves and started rubbing tight circles. Brittany's cries couldn't be muffled anymore and she broke the kiss, letting her head fall back and mouth fall open. She moved her hips in sync with Santana's movements.

Brittany needed more contact with her girlfriend, she needed to feel her. Her hands trailed down a tanned back and rested on the small of her back. She moved one hand to the front where the edge of her boy shorts rested. She let her fingertips enter slightly and waited.

Santana nodded, giving her consent. She reached down to Santana's core and mimicked her girlfriends movements. The Latina gasped at the touch and rocked her hips as well.

The feeling building in the pit of Brittany's stomach was reaching it's boiling point. Her breaths became shallow and she was gripping Santana's waist.

"San…" Brittany whispered between breaths. Santana looked into her girlfriends eyes.

"Tell me if I hurt you… ok?" The blonde nodded fiercely. Santana swallowed and lowed her hand to Brittany's entrance.

She circled a few times and slowly dipped inside with one finger, trying to be as gentle as possible. Brittany's eye's fluttered closed and her head tilted to the side. Santana built up the rhythm again, getting Brittany used to it before curling up her finger slightly.

"Ohhh!" She moaned loudly. "M-more Baby… please!" Santana pulled out and added a second finger before returning to her previous movements.

Brittany kept up her pace and lowered her own hand to Santana's entrance as her girlfriend did. The Latina urged her to continue by closing the small gap between them and capturing her lips for a searing kiss.

"You won't hurt me." Santana said in between kisses. Brittany placed two fingers inside and let her girlfriend find her rhythm.

It wouldn't take much for either of them. Brittany's hips we starting to buck erratically and her breath was hitching.

"San… oh god… don't s-stop!" With one final curl of her fingers, Brittany's walls clenched down on Santana's digits and she tumbled over the edge.

The sight before her pulled at Santana's heart. It was literally the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Everything boiling in the pit of her stomach went on overload and it was enough to send Santana into her orgasm.

"Oh… Bri- Britt!" Santana let out in ecstasy.

Both their bodies shook in unison and they slowed their hand movements as they rode out the waves of their high. They slowly pulled out of each other and Santana's arm couldn't support her anymore. She collapsed onto of her girlfriend and Brittany wrapped her arms tightly around her, chests rising and falling rapidly.

After their breathing slowed, Santana could hear the steady drumming of Brittany's heart and she softly smiled against her skin.

"I love you Brittany." She whispered. Brittany grinned and reached down to pull her girlfriend up to eye level.

"I love you too."

**XXXXXXXXXXX**

**Whoa! My fingers are numb and my cheeks hurt from smiling the entire time I wrote this. I know this is a little bit of a slower paced love scene and it's not as erotic as some but that's because this was after all, their first time, with anyone and with each other. They were testing the waters so to speak so they didn't really get into more advanced stuff. I wanted to put as much detail in it as I could and give give you all of their emotions as well.**

**Also, this was my first time writing any kind of sex scene so please be kind. I'm always up for constructive criticism, but please don't be too harsh.**

**Please comment and review! =D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Wow! The reviews are seriously amazing and I can't thank you all enough as well as for the new story/author alerts and favorites.**  
><strong>Shout out to all my reviewers from last chapter!<strong>

**00softball004EVA00, RainBlueWater, Terrischuster, Zanyalf, lebanese11, Pipinator89, AND**

**R41N-bow:**  
><strong>Haha I'm glad you liked it. Sorry it took so long to respond. I had finals last week so things were really crazy. I do paintball but only recreational with my friends. Never competition style. I do enjoy watching the tournaments though. As far as your question is concerned, you're jumping ahead! ahhh! LOL I don't want to give too much away because that was going to be one of the up-coming chapters. At least a friendly game before the tournament. Stay tuned for it though =) Thank you so much for the review. It's means so much!<strong>

**Chapter 11**

**XXXXXXXXX**

The sun had gone down on a relatively warm summer night. The moon lit up the lake now and the only sounds that could be heard were light ripples coming from the dock as it floated over the small waves and the slow and steady breathing of Brittany and Santana.

Each was curled up close to the other, wrapped tightly in each others embrace. Brittany had fallen asleep on Santana's shoulder with her arm draped lazily over her lover's stomach. The Latina lay awake, more than content to hold her girlfriend as the events of the night replayed in her mind. The sleepy smile she wore couldn't have been wiped from her face.

After what seemed like a hour or two, the blonde shivered in Santana's arms and nuzzled closer. The air had cooled down significantly and the brunette was worried that Brittany would get sick. As much as she hated the idea of waking her up, she reluctantly pressed a few soft kisses to her temple before whispering to her girlfriend.

"Britt… hey… you're getting cold. Wake up Baby."

"I just wanna lay here with you." She pleaded sleepily, pulling Santana even closer, kissing her neck softly, before snuggling even further into her shoulder.

"I know, me too. I really don't want you to get sick though; you have goosebumps all over." Tan hands ran up and down bare arms trying to warm the girl up a little bit.

"You're like a toaster oven though. How do you stay so warm?"

Santana chuckled softly. "I don't know, I've always been like this."

"Well I could snuggle with you all the time. I love being able to feel you."

"Me too." Santana smiled. "But we should really start heading back. I have no idea how long we have been out here and we need to get you warmed up."

"I think next time we should plan to not be in the middle of a lake." Brittany giggled out.

Santana laughed and nodded in agreement. "I wouldn't have traded tonight for the world though Britt."

"Me either." The blonde said and lifted her head up to kiss her girlfriend.

The couple swam side by side back to shore and dressed quickly. Santana walked over to Brittany as she pulled her t-shirt over her head, still shivering.

"Hey, put this on." She said, handing her hoodie to her girlfriend. Santana opened the underside of the jacket for her and Brittany slide her arms through and pulled the garment down over her head.

"You're really sweet San, thank you." Brittany smiled.

Santana pinched the sides of the hood that was still atop the blondes head and pulled the girl closer, nuzzling their noses together.

"You're welcome." She said as she placed a chaste kiss to her girlfriend's lips.

Brittany pulled out her phone. It was now rounding midnight.

"How long were we out there?" Santana questioned as she took her girlfriends hand and they walked back into the woods.

"About five hours, Rachel is probably going ballistic. She left me 12 text messages and called me about 30 times."

Santana pulled her phone from her BDU pants. Quinn had more or less racked up the same amount of text messages and calls.

"Well I guess it's a good thing they were worried about us… at the same time I really don't want to explain to them why we didn't answer."

"Trust me, Quinn will know when we walk through the door." Santana shook her head at the thought.

"Rachel will be waiting to play 20 questions."

Both girls laughed at Brittany's comment, knowing full well that Rachel would most certainly do exactly that.

**XXXXXXXXX**

"No seriously Quinn, I think they have been kidnapped, or eaten by an oversized animal! I knew we should have gone with them! They always want to take these stupid walks. Why couldn't they just stay here?" Rachel rambled out in one breath, pacing back and forth in her cabin.

Quinn was seated on Rachel's bunk, dialing Santana's number for what seemed like the 100th time.

"We have to tell someone! They could be dying for all we know!" Rachel finally stopped pacing and went to pull on her sweater.

"Rach, we can't! We don't know if they are even hurt."

"Oh yes we can! They have been gone for almost 6 hours now!" The brunette deadpanned.

Rachel turned on her heal and headed towards the door, Quinn hot on her heals. The brunette threw the door open only to jump back as Brittany and Santana were about to walk into the cabin.

All four jumped back in surprise.

"I SWEAR TO GOD I'M GOING TO KILL BOTH OF YOU! WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN? WE HAVE BEEN WORRIED SICK!" Rachel more or less could have woken up the entire camp. Quinn was standing behind the diva with a shit eating smirk, almost bursting into laughter.

Brittany and Santana turned to look at each other. "Told you." They both said in unison.

"Well? Are you going to tell us? We were about to call search and rescue!" Rachel demanded to the couple. "And what is so goddamn funny?" She spat at Quinn.

Quinn straightened up and tried as best as she could to put on a serious face but it was no use. Rachel looked between Quinn, almost falling over in laughter, and Brittany and Santana who were now blushing.

The diva finally caught on and her mouth opened and closed a few times, not really sure if she had the words to describe what she was thinking.

"Well this is awkward… I think we are gonna go to bed now." Brittany said, pulling Santana with her and over to her bunk.

"Wore yourselves out there did ya?" Quinn questioned before a new set of giggles started up. Santana fake laughed before flipping her off.

"This doesn't excuse the situation Brittany! I'm still pissed that you didn't have the common courtesy to at least tell us you wouldn't be back for a while!" Rachel belted out.

"Now that would have been an even more awkward conversation." Santana jumped in.

Rachel huffed in annoyance. Quinn was still doubled over in laughter while Brittany was stripping out of her semi-wet clothes.

"Santana, I realize that you two had an eventful night but you could have said something so we weren't freaking out and planning a funeral."

"Look, Berry," Santana said a little firmer, now taking the diva's persistence more seriously and getting rather annoyed. "I'm trying really hard to let this go. Forgive me for actually enjoying the night with my girlfriend. I didn't come back here to get a lecture, so would you pipe down and stay out of it?"

"San…" Brittany cut in warningly but Rachel carried on.

"Oh, so it's ok for you to shoot remarks about Quinn and I in a joking manner but when I'm sincerely worried for both of your guy's safety, it makes me the bad guy?" Rachel took a step closer to the slightly taller brunette, not backing down from a challenge.

Quinn had stopped laughing and was now looking back and forth between the two. Brittany was moving closer to her girlfriend and best friend, not fully sure if she should prepare herself for a physical altercation.

"I'm sorry that I didn't think about calling you while we were having sex. I'll remember that for next time." Santana spat sarcastically as she looked away and faked a mental note to herself.

"Please Santana, grow up! We are all young adults here and yes, sex usually comes along with it. I'm not asking you to narrate what you two do, but letting us know that you're alive would be something to take into account, especially since we have been trying to contact you for…" Rachel, now on the verge of tears when she mocked looking at the watch on her wrist, "gee.. 3 HOURS!"

"You know what… we are more than capable of making our own decisions around here. What we do is none of your damn business; you don't need to know everything we do or where we go. Why don't you just-" Santana started angrily before Quinn and Brittany moved in to pull their best friends apart.

"Santana stop!" Quinn shouted while hauling the Latina out of Brittany and Rachel's cabin and the few yards to their own.

Quinn shoved the brunette inside before slamming the door.

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?" The blonde shouted.

"What's wrong with me? Where you blind for the past few minutes? You're girlfriend wouldn't let it go and got up in my face about it!" Santana said now starting on Quinn.

"Well she does have a point! You two were gone for 6 hours Santana! I don't know about you, but I sure as hell was about ready to get the boys and start looking for you guys. We were worried sick!" Quinn as equally angry now and jumping to challenge her best friend.

"Oh for the love of God! How many times do I have to say this? I'M NOT JUST GONNA STOP WHAT I'M DOING TO CALL YOU AND TELL YOU SOMETHING LIKE THAT!"

"I wasn't asking you to! You rounded on Rachel like she did something wrong! She was worried about both of you! You could at least respect the fact that she was about to go tell someone. She didn't know if you were alive or dead! You guys have never been walking that long and it seriously freaked us out!"

"You knew as soon as you saw us! You were more than happy to laugh rather than preach about it!"

"That's because you and I share the same personality when it comes to stuff like that, S! RACHEL DOESN'T!" Quinn deadpanned.

"Did you know that her fathers were killed when she was 10 years old?" The blonde questioned, now more serious than ever.

"What does that even have to do wi-" Santana started but was quickly cut off.

"They were taking a walk after dinner one night when they were kidnapped, tortured, and then murdered! All because some homophobic assholes couldn't stand the thought of them raising Rachel! They thought that her dads were going to raise her to be '_gay_' like they were!" Santana anger flew out the window in an instant and she felt more guilty than ever.

"You have no idea what was running through her head when you didn't answer your phone! Brittany is her best friend and you're her best friend's girlfriend! I realize that to you, it only seems one sided and only directed for Brittany, but she cares about you too Santana!"

"Q… I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Santana said softly.

"Don't apologize to me. Look, I know you and Rachel don't always see eye-to-eye and yes, I realize she gets on your nerves sometimes, but she has reasons to why she acts the way she does. She's more afraid of loosing the people she cares about. I think you of all people would know what that feels like."

Santana winced at her words. Knowing full well what her best friend was referring to. After a few moments, Quinn's voice softened some and she came and sat next to the Latina.

"San… you know now what it's like to be that intimate with someone you care about. Rachel wasn't trying to ruin your's and Britt's night, ok. She just wanted to know you guys were ok. That's all."

Santana nodded in understanding and she stood up.

"I'll be back in a minute." Santana walked out of the door and over to the next cabin. She knocked a few times on the door before hesitantly opening it and peaking inside.

Rachel was leaned into Brittany's side, sniffling every other moment. The blonde looked up to her girlfriend with a slightly worried look.

"Hey… umm… Britt could you give us a minute?" The Latina hesitantly asked her girlfriend.

"San I don't think that's such a good idea."

"Please, it will only take a minute. I promise nothing will happen."

"It's not up to me." Brittany said, now looking down at her best friend who was staring off in front of her.

Santana paused for a moment. She knew that she shouldn't have snapped. After all, she and Brittany were gone for an irregular amount of time. It only made sense that their friends would care enough to practically have a heart attack about them being gone so long.

"Rachel…?" Santana said hesitantly. "Can I please talk to you for a minute?"

The diva stayed quite for a moment which made Santana nervous. Agonizing thoughts flooded through her head. All she could think about was the fact that she seemed to have gone back to her old ways of being a torturous bitch to everyone she came in contact with. Even people she seemingly hated but in reality she liked. Quinn was right, Rachel's moderately 'involved' personality did get on her nerves a bit. The shorter brunette did usually step into their conversations and the way she spoke in a rambling matter with her extensive vocabulary wasn't one thing that made getting along with her easy. But the one thing that Quinn somewhat hinted on was that Santana didn't like Rachel. Which wasn't the case. Although in a normal situation Santana wouldn't get along with someone who couldn't joke about random things, Rachel had grown on her.

Santana only teased the girl in a joking manner and in reality it was only around their rather large group of friends. Rachel ended up being in most of her individualized sessions and not knowing anyone else around them, usually set them off in their own conversations. They felt kind of awkward at first but eventually they set into more in depth conversations ranging from their relationships with Brittany and Quinn or about normal, everyday things. They weren't close but they did get along and were more or less, _friends_.

At that point Santana was about to accept the fact that Rachel didn't want to have anything to do with her when the diva finally spoke.

"It's ok Brittany, she can talk." Brittany looked up warningly at Santana before looking back to her best friend and nodding.

She moved to get off the bunk and Rachel sat up before re-adjusting herself to rest against the wall. Brittany walked over to her bag to grab her clothes before making her way to the shower, turning on the water, and closing the door.

Santana followed her girlfriends movements until she disappeared behind the door before returning her gaze back to Rachel. She wanted to apologize for being too harsh. In fact she wanted to apologize for even saying anything in the first place. Now that she thinks about the whole ordeal it just seems stupid to have even argued in the first place. Rachel honestly hadn't done anything wrong.

Now that she was actually there, she really didn't have a thought about what she would say to the shorter brunette. Santana usually didn't apologize to people for anything. Only when she was entirely in the wrong and this just happened to be one of those cases. She new she overstepped her bounds and what was worse was she now knew the reasons for Rachel wanting to be involved with her friends and why she seemed to care so much about their whereabouts.

The Latina moved slowly across the cabin to sit on the edge of the bunk. Rachel sat quietly, choosing to let Santana say what she needed to say and let that be the end of it. She played mindlessly with her pajama pants, picking and tracing the little monkey patterns printed on them.

"Rachel I… I'm sorry for what I said to you earlier. I didn't mean to put you down. You were worried about us and I shouldn't have snapped. You didn't deserve that or anything that I said to you. It's just that I was so happy about my night with Britt and it just seemed like you pushed it aside and wanted to start a fight and-"

"I didn't want that though Santana." She cut the Latina off. "I just wanted to know that you guys were alright and when you didn't come back after a few hours it… it-" A new set of tears escaped and Rachel and she tried desperately to breathe through her sobs.

Santana moved to sit up against the wall with Rachel before wrapping an arm around the shorter girl and pulling her into a hug. Santana sat quietly with her, just letting her get it all out. In a way, Rachel was like Santana in the way she regarded her feelings, especially around people she didn't trust. And right now Rachel had every right not to trust her, which is why Santana thought long and hard before she spoke, not wanting what she said to upset the diva anymore. After a while longer, Rachel's sobs quieted down and her breath evened out slightly.

"I know Rach. It brought back all the memories of your dads." She closed her eyes at the thought. She couldn't imagine loosing both parents, especially the way that Rachel had. The Latina felt Rachel tense when she mentioned it. She tried to shake it off and continue her apology.

"I know you didn't mean anything by it earlier. I have a tendency to jump to conclusions and be a bitch about that sort of thing."

"I really am happy for you and Brittney, Santana. like I said, I just wanted to know that you guys were alright and-"

"I know." She said it a little more harshly than intended and she internally cursed herself for it. She just wanted to be able to communicate to the girl without another interruption.

The Latina sighed heavily after a moment and continued, this time in a softer tone than before. "I know that now. And I wanted to tell you that you didn't do anything wrong. Again, you didn't deserve what I said to you and now that I know about your… umm… your dads," Santana said hesitantly, not sure that it was something that Rachel wanted her knowing or for that matter, bringing it up, "I know now why you reacted the way you did. I was just so focused on you jumping on me and Britt when we got back that I failed to see that you were just worried about us. And I'm sorry."

Rachel looked at Santana, almost trying to judge if she was being sincere in her apology before she gave a small grin.

"Thank you." The diva said after a moment. "I appreciate your sincerity and I accept your apology." Santana smiled.

"I'm going to hug you now." Rachel said after a moment and Santana let out a slight laugh at the warning. The Latina nodded and leaned in to hug her back.

"So you guys kissed and made up I see?" Brittany's voice came from the hallway diagonally from the bunk they were sitting on.

Both Rachel and Santana looked up at the freshly showered blonde, neither noticing that she had even turned off the water or opened the door. Brittany had her arms folded across her chest lazily and was leaning up against the wall with a smile on her face.

"Well without the kissing part, but yes. I'll leave that for the two of you love birds." Rachel teased.

"How long were you standing there?" Santana asked, slightly worried. Santana secretly knew that Brittany was an exception to seeing her soft side but she didn't really want her knowing that she considered Rachel her friend.

"Long enough." Was Brittany's reply with a half smile tugging at her lips. She totally knew.

Rachel laughed as she saw Santana's expression drop slightly. "I'm going to see Quinn. You guys be good." She pointed between the couple as she got up to cross the room. She gave Brittany a hug before exiting the cabin, leaving the couple to stare at one another. The blonde started to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Santana asked.

"You're just really cute when you let people know that you care."

Santana just gave a rather horrified look. "What! Who said I was showing anyone anything?"

"So I just imagined that whole conversation between you and Rachel?"

The Latina's face drained of color and her mouth dropped open. "You heard the whole thing?"

Brittany laughed and nodded with a funny looking smirk. The dancer didn't think Santana knew that Rachel was crying in her arms for a good 10 minutes, by which time Brittany had already finished her shower and could hear them talking outside the door.

"Whatever you heard it wasn't anything more than an apology for acting like a bitch."

"Uh huh, whatever you say." She could totally call Santana's bullshit. The Latina huffed.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Ok I was gonna post this last night but the internet on campus was down so I apologize for that. Also for the delay for last week and not updating. Finals week kicked my ass. I have a lot of extra time for break now though so it should be back to a pretty regular schedule. I hope you guys liked the Pezberry friendship. To be honest I actually love them together. That love/hate relationship reminds me of Tom & Jerry cartoons for some reason. The performance of We Are Young in last weeks episode made my feelings go crazy! Then last nights episode just made me want to slap someone. **

**MAJOR NOTE: If you feel like you are missing things in this chapter, good, because you are. The reference Quinn made when she said "you of all people should understand that" will be revealed in the next few chapters.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Alright, here we go! **

**Chapter 12**

**XXXXXXXX**

The camp was rounding on their last weekend before the big tournament. Everyone was getting fired up and doing as much work with their individual teams as possible. Santana was working everyone really hard, running practices whenever she could fit them into their down time or anytime another spot opened up for one of the fields.

The Riots were getting ready for a doubled group session, usually involving two teams for one lesson or just a friendly match. Puck was helping Santana work through some new strategies for their next practice before the other team and the coach arrived.

"Well, well, look who's here."

Santana turned around with a smile; she could pick out her girlfriends voice from anywhere.

"Hey babe, grouping with you guys today I see. Ready to get crushed?" Santana teased as she walked over and gave her a kiss.

"Oh you wish!"

Everyone did their usual greetings and started to chat amongst themselves when the Coach arrived.

"I see you all have gotten acquainted? I'm Coach Holliday but you can all call me Holly." The woman said as she approached the group.

Santana and Brittany stopped their conversation and turned toward the older looking blonde woman. She had her hair in a tight ponytail and was carrying her shield in one hand and an extra box of paintballs in the other.

"Alright so is everyone ready for a little game of Assassins?"

Everyone cheered. The entire time they have been here, none of the coaches have suggested they play it because in the past, people tend to cheat.

"Wait you're actually going to let us play that?" Puck asked, eyes wide and very much, excited.

"Why wouldn't I? This is a paintball game after all." Holly said. "Let's get this party started!"

Another round of cheers filled the air as everyone gathered around in a big circle.

"Alright, has anyone not played this game before?" Holly asked the group. When nobody spoke up, the coach nodded, even though there were a few people from each team who looked a little hesitant.

Holly smirked, "Well just for recaps sake, lets lay out the description and the rules. Basically this is a free-for-all. I'm going to assume that you all know each other so instead of descriptions of what you are all wearing, I'm going to give you a card and you will write your name on it. After, everyone is going to pass their card off to the person on your left and keep going until I tell you to stop. The point of the game is elimination. You seek out the person who's name is on your card and ONLY that person. Once you get the kill, you take the card from the person and hunt the next. You keep the cards of the people you eliminate and the person at the end of the game with the most cards collected, wins. Does everyone understand?" Everyone nodded with huge grins.

This whole set up worked out well for each of the teams. Competition with friends but not exactly favoring each team. Of course any game that they played together as their own teams was amazing and it was always great to win, but getting to know this other group of people and forming close friendships, put them off on an equal status. There was no, 'we will kick your ass,' between the groups, except in an obviously joking manner.

Holly grabbed a stack of index cards from her cargo pants and handed them to each of the teens. Once everyone had written their names down she continued on with the process.

"On the count of three, everyone will start passing their cards, when I tell you to reverse, switch directions, and then again until I'm sure the cards are nice and shuffled. One, two, three." Holly shouted to the group and a basic game of hot potato started around the circle, passing each index card off to the next person.

"Reverse." Holly said quickly. Everyone switched the direction and passed the cards back the way they came before the next command was given shortly after, again switching the flow of the cards in the original clockwise pattern.

"Ok, stop." Everyone halted their movements and looked down to the folded card in their hands.

"The person on the card is the first one you will seek. If you shoot a player but you don't have that persons name on your card, you are disqualified. I'm not going to put a time limit on this game, as we have three hours to kill. Everyone needs to find their own spot to start, play as if each person you see has your card, and remember," Holly said with a coy smile, "Trust No One!"

With that, everyone grabbed their gear and shot off in different directions of the roped off woodland area. All in all it added up to about six acres of playing space which was pretty big. The woods gave cover for the people smart enough to use the surroundings to their advantage and anyone who had played in this arena before knew all the little ins and outs of the makeshift bunkers that were sprawled out within it's confines.

As everyone was running about, trying desperately to get into position before Coach Holliday blew her whistle, Brittany and Santana walked hand in hand towards a secluded spot along the parameter of the giant field, masked resting on their heads with their paintball guns in hand. The noise of everyone else running a muck could be heard through the trees when Brittany stopped walking and pulled Santana into her body and wrapped her arm around the Latina's shoulder.

"So what happens when I get you?" Brittany asked as she nuzzled Santana's nose.

"What makes you so sure that you're gonna get me?" The brunette smirked. She was pretty sure Brittany didn't have her card but at the same time she wasn't afraid of a challenge.

"Cuz if it comes down to it, I really don't think you are gonna be able to pull the trigger."

"Oh you think so?" Santana questioned.

"Yup, I do." Brittany confirmed with a playful grin.

The Latina just giggled. "I guess we will find out then won't we?"

"That we will baby."

The whistle sounded to begin the match. Brittany leaned in to give Santana a kiss and she winked at her girlfriend before pulling her mask down and taking off into a section of bushes back towards the center of the field. Santana shook her head with a huge smile prying at her lips as she glanced down at her card. She gave a devilish grin and pulled her mask down before following in the direction that Brittany had gone only moments ago. First victim, _Finn Hudson_.

In most situations it would be easy to lose track of the person you were supposed to kill but in this instance, Santana could easily make out where Finn was with a quick glance of the field. She kept out of sight though, making sure not to notify the person that had her card of her position. She was easily disguised, wearing her camouflage BDU's. She crept quietly along the parameter, trying to get into a good position to catch the gangly looking boy off guard. He was situated behind a bunker, scoping the area before he popped off a few rounds towards Puck's position. With one final breath, Santana peered around the corner of the large tree she was squatting behind and opened fire. Finn arched forward slightly from the sting of the paintballs splattering across is lower back and crumpled to the ground with a hiss.

Santana glanced around before ducking low and sprinting towards the pile of wood he was crouched behind.

"Did you have to unload on me while you were that close?" Finn asked clutching his back.

"Oh stop being such a baby and give me your card. It didn't hurt that bad." Santana said with an eye role.

Finn started to get up to walk off the field until Santana shoved him back against the bunker.

"Sit your ass back down, you're gonna give away my position." Finn coward back and stayed quiet as Santana peeked around the bunker to find Puck.

"Don't move until I leave, do you understand?" Finn nodded and Santana crawled out from behind the bunker and over to a better set up. Puck had just taken out Artie and was making his way over to his bunker when Santana bolted towards both of them popping three rounds into Puck's leg.

"Fuck!" Puck shouted. "Finn didn't have shit on me, I thought he would be too scared to come after me."

"Guess that's what happens when you underestimate the person holding his card huh?" Santana chuckled.

"Artie, hand it over." Snapping her fingers towards her teammate, taking the card that was supposed to go to Puck and looking at it.

"Aw fuck, Quinn is gonna kill me!" Santana cursed as she glanced at the card.

"Maybe just shoot her once if you can get away with it?" Artie suggested.

"Who is it?" Santana showed Puck the card and he just started to laugh.

"You got short stack! That's priceless!"

"Priceless if you didn't just declare a truce with the girl a few days ago…" Santana muttered as she positioned herself to hop up and move to go find Rachel. She peeked her head around and spotted Rachel on the other side of the arena.

Santana sighed, "This is gonna suck."

Hoping and praying that Quinn didn't have her card, Santana maneuvered herself out of the playing field once again as to not be recognized. She made her way through the trees and over to the bunker directly adjacent to Rachel's. The shorter brunette caught sight of her though and started opening fire on Santana. _Shit she has my card_.

Basically it was going to come down to a stand off. Neither had to worry about other people shooting at them so it was a game of out-smarting the other. Santana had to give it to Rachel though, the girl was tiny but man did she know how to play some paintball.

Nobody really kept track of the time, but after about half an hour of Rachel and Santana going back and for and nobody winning, Holly finally called a tie between them. Both were matching each others movements and just wasting paintballs. Everyone else had been picked off already and were just watching the show down between the two.

Everyone gathered around to await the results of the card count, throwing in their input as Santana and Rachel walked up to shake hands on a well fought stand off.

"Well I must say Santana that that was without a doubt, the most challenging match I've been in. We will definitely have a good show to put on when the Riots and the Showstoppers go head to head." Rachel said with a smile.

_Wait… what?_"Come again?" Santana said taken aback by the statement.

Rachel took a deep breath before repeating herself. "I just said that going up against you was a challenge that I didn't expect and-"

"No not that part, the other part… about the teams." Santana insisted.

"That we are going to be putting on an amazing display when we play against you this weekend…"

Most people caught on to the conversation but were more concerned about the way Santana was reacting.

"You're on what team?"

"San, are you kidding?" Puck asked.

Santana wheeled around to Brittany who was talking with Quinn, completely ignoring Puck's interjection.

"The Showstoppers? You're captain of the Showstoppers?" She asked, angry, hurt, but most of all confused.

Brittany just looked at her girlfriend, glancing around to the rest of the people who were staring between the couple, before settling back to Santana, slightly confused as to why she was asking that and more importantly, why she was acting so upset about it.

"Uh, yeah? San what's wrong?"

Santana was fuming. "Was this a joke to you? Just some game that you could play and once you got to me you would dump me?"

Nothing the Latina was saying was making any sense to anyone, especially Brittany. "What are you talking about? Dump you? Where is this coming from?"

"Sure act like you don't know? I was just some fucking game to you wasn't I?"

"Santana what's going on?" Quinn jumped in, now more confused than ever.

"You knew didn't you? You knew and you didn't say anything!" Santana rounded on Quinn, now yelling.

"Knew what? I don't understand what you're talking about!" Quinn screamed right back, now walking over to her best friend.

"They are our rival team Quinn! What part of this isn't making any sense?"

"The fact that you're freaking out about it for one! What the hell is going on?" Quinn asked but then suddenly realized that Santana didn't know what team Brittany played for.

"Wait… this whole time… y-you didn't know?" Quinn asked.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" Brittany asked, now stepping forward to walk up to her girlfriend. She tried to reach out to Santana's hand but the Latina pulled it away and glared at her. Santana stepped away and Brittany flinched at the action.

The brunette pulled off her mask and threw the rest of her gear on the ground without so much as a word before turning and walking of the field. Brittany went to follow, but Quinn pulled her back.

"Don't Britt, just let her go."

"Quinn what just happened? I don't understand what I did. Why did she just take off?" Brittany asked, almost on the verge of tears.

**XXXXXXXXXX**

**Ahhh yes I know, cliff hanger! Shorter chapter but I've reached the turning point in the story so this is where I decided to fit it in. I wanted to give you all a little something for Christmas since I'm all by my lonesome this weekend. I'll get cracking on the next chapter tomorrow before I go back to work on Monday. **

**So based off the information you have so far, what all do you think is going on with Santana? Why did she freak out like that? Answers coming soon!**

**Merry Christmas everyone! =)  
><strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello lovely's! Long time no see… or read. Anyways, Finally had a day to relax so I decided to work on my stories. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 13 for you!**

**XXXXXXXXX**

Quinn jogged from the field, trying to catch up to her best friend.

"Santana!" She yelled from about 10 yards behind her. The brunette didn't look back, nor did she stop walking. Quinn quickened her pace and reached for her friend's arm to slow her down and get her attention.

Santana yanked her arm away and kept walking. Realizing that it was a lost cause at the moment, Quinn gave a worried look in the direction Santana was headed before she started back towards the field.

Brittany was sitting on a picnic table with her head in her hands, tears noticeably rolling down her cheeks as Rachel ran soothing circles on her shoulders. The rest of the team had cleared off by now, not really wanting to upset anyone and to be honest, not really wanting to involve themselves in any drama.

"She gonna be alright?" Puck asked his best friend.

"Honestly?" Puck nodded.

"I'm not sure. She has it in her head that it's gonna be the same thing as last time."

"Yeah, but it's not though… Brittany wouldn't do that to her. She's a wild child sure, and Britt totally has her wrapped around her finger, but she wouldn't do that to San." Puck commented.

"Yeah, we know that Puck… San doesn't though." The blonde stated, glancing back over to Brittany.

"Yeah well, she better figure her shit out quick cuz she didn't even say anything to Britt, just pushed her aside and made her think she did something wrong." He stated.

Quinn just nodded. "I'm gonna go talk to Brittany real quick. Would you mind walking back to the cabins with Rachel and I'll catch up?"

"Sure, you gonna tell her?"

"I don't really have much choice. San certainly isn't gonna be doing it anytime soon." Puck could only give her sympathetic smile.

"I'll take her stuff with me." Puck said before he and Quinn moved to walk over to a distraught Brittany. Rachel had a worried look on her face. She stood up reluctantly and walked the few steps to her girlfriend.

"What happened Quinn?" Rachel whispered.

"I'll fill you in when I get back to the cabin. Puck is gonna walk back with you while I talk to Britt."

Rachel nodded, walked over to the table to grab her gear before turning towards her best friend. She leaned down to tell her Quinn was going to talk to her and that she would be back at the cabin. Brittany only nodded into her hands before letting out a shaky breath before the next set of tears started to fall. Rachel kissed the top of her head and walked back to Quinn.

"I'll see you soon." Rachel stated softly with a small encouraging smile. She placed a soft kiss on Quinn's lips before linking her arm with Puck's and walked off the field towards the cabins.

Quinn took a deep breath before making her way back over to the taller blonde. She took a step up and seated herself next to Brittany, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder before moving to pull some of her hair away from the girl's face.

Brittany just couldn't handle it anymore. She sucked in a few uneven breaths, still keeping her head in her hands and spoke softly. "W-Why did she run off Quinn? I j-just don-don't understand what I did t-to make her so m-mad at me." The tears started to come harder this time and Quinn pulled her into her arms, trying to comfort her.

"Shhh, Britt, you didn't do anything wrong. Santana…" Quinn closed her eyes at the thought, "she just… she related a past experience to you and she has it in her head that you were going to do the same thing."

"Do what though? I don't understand!" Brittany shifted, now more confused than anything and frankly, somewhat angry at what Quinn just stated.

"You have to calm down and I'll tell you; it's not easy for San to let people in. As I'm sure you are aware of the walls she has built around herself, she's an extremely hard person to get to know… she doesn't trust easily and the people she does, it took a long time to get to that point. Puck and I are the only two people who know about the things she has gone through. She's used to abandonment Britt. It's not anything you did, it's what happened in her past that makes her so resistant." Quinn stated softly but firmly so that Brittany would understand the severity of the situation and not blame it on herself.

The taller blonde relaxed as much as she could to control her breathing before she asked the next question; this time a little less harsh. "What did that have to do with what team I played for?"

"Did you tell her what team you played for? Was it something you discussed?" Quinn asked.

Brittany thought about it for a moment, replaying the last two and a half weeks in her head, trying to pinpoint the discussions they had about paintball and their teams. "The night we met… at the dance, we were talking about our teams, she told me what team she was on and then asked me, I went to tell her but Mike and Finn walked into the conversation and asked us to play in the night match. That's the only time we really talked about it. We were always teamed up or talking about everything else. Why does that matter though?"

Quinn sighed. "She didn't know what team you played for and quite honestly I think if you two were able to finish your discussion this never would have happened."

"What does it matter what team I played for? I thought she knew because it was never brought up again and it was never an issue." Brittany stated baffled.

"You guys were so wrapped up in each other that it didn't matter for her to question it I don't think."

"What do you mean? She knew I was on a different team Quinn…"

"I know that, she just didn't know you were on the Showstoppers… Captain of the Showstoppers I might add."

Brittany just gave her a confused look. Before she could ask another question, Quinn explained further.

"I met Santana when she moved to Lima during 6th grade. She was already out to her parents but not to the rest of her family. Santana, Puck, and I got really close, hung out on a regular basis but she would always keep us at arms length. We never knew why but it was something that me and Puck had to dig our heals into." Brittany listened intently for Quinn to continue.

"She didn't really want us to hang out at her place, nor be around her siblings." Brittany gave Quinn a weird look at this piece of information.

"Why?"

"Her Grandmother wasn't supposed to find out that she was gay. At least until her parents had a chance to talk to her first. Santana and her Abuela were really close but she was also very religious."

"What about her siblings?" Brittany asked.

"Her older brother and sister knew she was gay but the younger ones didn't. She just didn't want to take a chance of them finding out and saying something to her Grandmother."

Brittany was slightly confused at this point. "Ok so where does what team I play for play into all of this? Why did she say I was going to dump her?"

Quinn sighed heavily and brought her hand up to her head, trying to figure out the best way to explain the situation. Brittany sat, listening intently as her tears began to subside.

"Santana got her first real girlfriend, if you could even call it that," she added bitterly, "when we started high school. San was working her way through the ranks in her ROTC program. She probably already told you about Commanding the Color Guard." Brittany nodded so Quinn continued.

"She met this girl at one of our competitions, they got close and started dating. She would come to all of our practices and hang around, seemingly what a good girlfriend would do to support you know?" Quinn lowered her head and Brittany could tell that it was just as hard to talk about it. "We showed up to our National Competition and Santana's 'girlfriend' was in uniform for the rival school. When they met she was just a girl in the crowd, no uniform or anything."

"And Santana didn't know…" Brittany said as more of a statement. She was starting to understand the connections now.

Quinn nodded sadly. "They ended up performing all of our routines before we were on deck. We had no choice but to drop from the competition. As we were leaving, Madison was her name, came up to Santana… God I wanted to punch the fucking smirk off her face," Quinn added angrily. "Santana asked her why she had done it, and the bitch just said because she wanted to win. Before she left she pulled Santana in and kissed her in front of her family, including her Grandmother."

"Oh god…" Brittany said softly trying to blink back the tears. She couldn't imagine how that must have hurt Santana.

"Not only did Madison use Santana, she outted her to the rest of her family. Her Grandmother basically disowned her before we even reached the van to go home and hasn't talked to her since. That woman was like a second parent to San and she was betrayed and abandoned by the two people that were making her so happy."

"That's why she's so guarded now and her resistance to relationships…" Brittany thought allowed at how everything was starting to make sense. The why's and how's of the puzzle were falling into place and it was breaking her heart to think about how someone could possibly do that to the girl she was in love with.

"She closed everyone off after that. She started to doubt the people around her and fell into a really bad place. She rarely smiled, became a raging bitch for lack of a better word, and never let another girl close to her again. The only thing that really pulled her out of it was when we started our paintball team and even then it wasn't back to how it used to be."

"I wasn't trying to hide what team I was on though Quinn…" Brittany said sadly shaking her head.

Quinn gave her a soft smile. "I know that and so does Puck… Santana only sees it as a rerun of the shit she went through a few years ago though and this in her mind is much worse because she loves you. It was bad with Madison but with you, you are someone she cares about more than anything and it all came back to her thinking your only getting close to her just to throw it all away after the competition this weekend."

"But I wouldn't do that and she knew I was on a different team…"

"You're the captain of the other number one team in Ohio, Britt. It kinda reinstates the fear she has more than usual… the rival team, the captain/commander part is parallel to the Madison issue. It's not that you're on a different team, it's _what_ team you play for and the _position _you have on that team."

Brittany just sighed and nodded in understanding. She wanted to go talk to Santana and explain the situation but what could she do? How was she supposed to break down the walls again and let her in enough to tell her that's not what she wanted to do or ever intended to do.

**XXXXXXXXX**

Puck knocked on the girls cabin door. After a few moments Mercedes answered.

"Hey, she here?" He asked.

"She wasn't here when I got back, I don't know where she is." Mercedes replied sadly.

Puck just nodded. "Can I leave her gear here with you?"

"Yeah, make sure she's ok will you?"

"Gotta find her first." Puck chuckled softly trying to lighten the mood.

"Knowing San, she won't be found unless she wants to…"

**XXXXXXXXX**

**Ahhh lovely readers! Alright so there is the huge chunk of information you have been missing since they met. Why Santana didn't know what team she played for, the second parent mentality about her Grandmother and what Quinn meant about knowing what it feels like to loose a 'parent' … the whole shebang. I apologize for the fact that it has taken me so long to start up again. School this quarter has seriously been kicking my ass and it's been hard to find time to write on top of everything else I have going on. Please know that I will be taking the Notice down because the Chapter/Story will bug me to no end if it shows 14 chapters when there is only 13 but again I can't give you a time frame of when my next chapter will be. I will try my hardest to give them to you as quickly as possible but my last few weeks of the quarter are coming up which means finals so bear with me.**

**You guys have been so amazing and I can't thank you enough for your support and understanding. It's truly a wonderful experience to get this much feedback for my first FanFic. Comments and reviews are always amazing. Let me know what you all think! **


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you for the new story alerts and favorites. I also wanted to thank my reviewers for the last chapter as well as apologize for the wait. Again I'm so glad you guys are all very understanding of my schedule and how patient you have been. Here's to you guys!**

** Chapter 14**

**XXXXXXXX**

"Where is she?" Brittany asked as her and Quinn walked up to Puck. He pulled his cell phone away from his ear with an annoyed look on his face. Quinn took an deep breath and closed her eyes. _Damnit Santana._ The shorter blonde thought.

"She's not answering her phone and it's been almost an hour since she left the field. I've tried her cell but it keeps going straight to voicemail."

"She turned it off." Quinn states and Puck nods his head.

"We have to find her, Q." Puck says as he looks away for a moment. "She's shutting herself off and you know what happened last time."

Quinn nods.

"Wait, what do you mean… what happened last time?" Brittany asked, worry etched over every inch of her beautiful face.

_FLASHBACK_

Santana sat silent the entire ride home from the ROTC competition. Her Grandmother had walked away from her without much less as a single word. Quinn would catch a few worried glances at her and after a few minutes she caught sight of a single tear running down her cheek.

The blonde reached over across the seat tentatively and placed a comforting hand on her best friends forearm. Santana shrugged her off and stared further out of the window. Quinn didn't know what to do. She sat quietly the rest of the way home and got out of the van after pulling into the Lopez driveway. Santana exited the vehicle and walked to her room before closing the door. The blonde just looked between her parents, each trying to give a half reassuring smile before heading into the kitchen to start dinner. After about an hour, Quinn walked upstairs to let the Latina know that dinner was ready. She knocked a few times with no answer so she figured her friend had fallen asleep.

"San? Dinner is ready." She stated once more before quietly pushing the door open.

Her bed was empty so she went to check the bathroom with no luck. As she went to leave she glanced over and noticed the window ajar and jogged over. _Shit._

Quinn ran downstairs and into the kitchen.

"She's gone! She climbed out of her window." She said to Santana's parents. Both turned to look at her.

Mr. Lopez bolted upstairs to his daughter's room. Mrs. Lopez picked up the house phone to dial her cell. "She's not answering her phone." She states as Mr. Lopez reappears in the kitchen.

Quinn pulled out her cell phone and dialed the only other person who would be able to help her.

"_You're go for Puck!"_ The deep voice rang out over the phone.

"Puck, I need you!" Quinn was practically hyperventilating. She couldn't think of anything else to say.

"_I'm on my way!_" Puck said without needing anything other than that.

Ten minutes later, Puck was at the Lopez house, along with Mercedes and Artie who pulled in right after him.

Quinn was biting her nails, pacing back and forth when she spotted Puck. The tall mohawked boy pulled her into a hug and tried to calm her down.

"We're gonna find her, Q." Puck had dialed Mrs. Lopez right after hanging up with Quinn and she filled him in on the details while he was driving over.

The group set out in pairs, driving all over Lima for the past three hours to find the Latina with no luck. The sun had gone down an hour ago and everyone was practically flipping their shit by now. Mrs. Lopez had logged onto their iCloud account to try and locate the brunette's phone but she had turned it off, leaving everyone with no idea where to look.

"Where would she go? This town is so damn tiny and she didn't take her car. She couldn't have gone that far. Is she hiding under a fucking rock?" Quinn said as she ended the call to Santana's phone for the 100th time.

Puck was looking out of the window, listening to Quinn as he was scanning the corners and back through the tree's before he stopped dead in the middle of the road.

"I know where she is…" He said before turning the car around. _Not under a rock… on it._ Puck thought as he sped off towards Rockview Middle School.

_END FLASHBACK_

By this time another hour had passed and the whole team was looking for Santana. Quinn had called the Latina's parents and they came right away. They didn't let anyone else from the camp know what was going on just yet because they knew that if they were able to find her she would be more than pissed off that she couldn't compete so they kept it within their group.

Brittany was searching all over the camp with Rachel, Quinn, and Puck. She was more than freaked out at this point and couldn't understand how the other two didn't seem as crazy as she was becoming.

"Britt you need to calm down and rest for a minute." Puck said, trying to catch his breath from running around.

"How are you two not freaking out right now? You're best friend is missing and you want to rest. She's my girlfriend god damnit! I'm not going to calm down until I find her and then I'm gonna beat her ass for running away!" The taller blonde shouted, making both Puck and Quinn recoil slightly.

"Brittney, we are freaking out alright! But this isn't the first time this is happened and she just went somewhere where people wouldn't think to look for her. When I found her at the middle school a few years ago, she was on the roof of our old gym. We would sneak up there sometimes and just hangout. She needs time to think. She would go somewhere that nobody knew about." Puck said.

"Yeah but…" Brittany didn't finish her sentence before realization struck and she took off in a dead sprint through the camp.

Quinn, Rachel, and Puck just looked at each other with shocked faces before taking off after Brittany.

**XXXXXXXX**

"Where the hell did she go?" Rachel said clutching her chest and heaving to get oxygen in her lungs.

They had managed to keep up with Brittany all the way from outside the DC up until the last paintball field before the blonde had disappeared through the woods.

"I'm… gonna… kill … them… both now!" Quinn stated between deep breaths, hunched over with her hands on her knees.

Puck had is hands clutched on top of his head, face scrunched up trying to suck in some much needed air.

"How the hell… is she not… falling over right now?" He asked before heaving a deep breath, "We were sprinting for at least a mile and she… She's still going!"

"I guess when you really love someone that much, you won't stop until their in your arms again." Rachel said as she stood up straight, sneaking a glance at Quinn before starting a slow walk back towards the cabins.

Puck smirked, not missing the blush that had crept up his best friend's face at the comment.

"Shut up." The blonde said as she gave him a shove, a small smile sneaking at her lips as she followed after her girlfriend.

Puck grinned before looking one last time in the direction they saw Brittany last go. "Don't fuck this up, San." He said to himself before following after Rachel and Quinn.

**XXXXXXXX**

Brittany made her way through the woods, never slowing down until she was about 20 yards away from the ending tree line. She slowed her breathing down as she kept her eyes trained on the beach sand coming into view. She scanned the area she could see and when her eyes landed on the Latina's form perched up on the set of rocks, she breathed a sigh of relief before making her way quietly towards her girlfriend.

She was staring off out towards the water, knees brought up to her chest and held close by her arms.

"Why are you here." Santana said stoically, eyes never leaving the water as the blonde approached her from behind.

"How'd you know it was me?" She said, stopping for a moment to see if Santana would turn to look at her.

"I always know it's you and seeing as you're the only other person that knows about this lake, it's not that hard to figure out." She answered idly, eyes still trained on the water. "How did you know where I was?" Curiosity getting the better of the Latina even if she was pissed as hell at Brittany.

Brittany walked forward a few feet, now standing a yard away, parallel to Santana. "A hunch."

Santana glanced towards Brittany before returning her attention to the water. "Puck mentioned something about you going somewhere to think, somewhere nobody would think to look for you and it brought me here. You told me this place always made you relax.

"So you think you know everything about me then…?" Santana spat bitterly.

Brittany took a deep breath at the harshness of her girlfriend's tone (if the brunette still considered them a couple) but let the remark fall on deaf ears. She knew Santana was hurt and that she was only guarding herself from the pain.

"No San, I don't know everything about you. But I'd like to if you would give me the chance."

The Latina let out a sour laugh. "Why, so you can use it against me?"

"Santana…"

"Listen, you don't have to explain, alright! I was just some pawn in your twisted game and-"

"SHUT UP SANTANA!" Brittany yelled, catching the Latina off guard and looking the blonde straight in the eye. "I'm not Madison so whatever you're thinking right now that has you relating me to _her, _you better remove it from your head right now before I beat it out of you like I'm gonna do already for you running away from me and making me worry about you!"

Santana opened her mouth to retort but Brittany silenced her. "Don't! Don't you dare speak unless it's to let me in and for you to explain to me what the hell is going on."

"Seems like my friends have already filled you in on quite a lot so there's not really much to say now is there?" Santana challenged.

"Why are you so god damn stubborn? You think this is easy for me? To have your girlfriend shut you out and get pissed at you for no reason?"

"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME WHAT TEAM YOU PLAYED FOR BRITTANY!" Santana bellowed, jumping up from the rock and squaring up to the blonde.

"Because it was never brought up again. I was going to tell you-"

"No you weren't! You were using me so you could get me to fall in love with you… win the tournament, and then never speak to me again! Luckily my family already knows I'm a raging lesbian so there wouldn't be that bombshell dropped on them and forcing me out of the flannel closet!"

Brittany laughed. "You really believe that don't you?"

Santana scowled, slightly taken aback by how Brittany seemingly mocked her.

"I did tell you… or at least I was going to tell you until we were interrupted by Mike and Finn!"

"What?" The brunette shook her head in confusion.

"The night that we met… at the dance, Santana. You asked me what team I played for. I said I was captain… and if my memory serves correctly, Mike and Finn walked into the conversation right as I was about to tell you what team I played for! They asked us to play in the night match and we never really talked about paintball after that!"

Santana wanted to retort but in all honesty, now that she thinks about that night, what Brittany is saying was the truth. She remembers the blonde saying '_captain of the…_' before Mike and Finn walked up.

"I just assumed you knew or that Quinn or Puck told you because you never questioned it after that. I wasn't trying to hid it." Brittany stated softly, looking at her girlfriend and letting a few tears fall. "I wouldn't do that to you San… I love you. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone else in this world."

Santana stayed silent for a few moments, looking into Brittany's eyes to try and determine if the sincerity there matched the tone in her voice.

It did.

The Latina took a few breaths to try and stop the few tears from forming in her eyes before slowly brushing a few blonde bangs out of Brittany's eyes and cupping her cheek. Santana swallowed what little pride she had left before speaking.

"I'm sorry Britt… I just-" Brittany didn't even give her a chance to finish apologizing before closing the distance and pulling her girlfriend into a searing kiss. Brittany pulled their bodies close together, hanging on for dear life.

When they finally needed oxygen, Brittany reluctantly pulled away but never let Santana go and the Latina wasn't complaining.

The brunette rested her forehead against Brittany's and stayed silent for a moment, trying to find words to express to the blonde just how sorry she was for the things she said.

"Brittany… I'm…" Santana tried before her tears started to fall and she couldn't form a coherent word without almost loosing control of her breathing.

"Shhh San. I know." The blonde stated, realizing that this was probably one of the rare times that Santana actually cried and it was hard enough for her to apologize without weighing in the fact that she almost could have lost Brittany because of a stupid misunderstanding.

They stayed like that, eventually sinking to the sand, Santana wrapped in her girlfriends arms and eventually crying herself to sleep. Brittany pulled out her phone and typed out a quick text.

**To: Quinn  
>I found her and she's alright. We'll be back soon. -B<strong>


End file.
